HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj Quotes

"G u r u m u k ha padma v a k y a"
By HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj
Your Servant
Paresh Parekh
"G u r u m u k ha padma v a k y a"
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A mental game that maya plays on everyone
We find in the story of Vishvamitra muni. What kind of tapasya he had performed? Who could
do what he has done going into the deserts in the middle of summer with eight fires around
you without eating or sleeping or drinking for years at a time, going to the peaks of the
Himalayas up to his neck in the waters of the Gangotri with ice around him for years at a time.
We have hard enough time if a mosquito lands on us, our mind gets disturbed, “May be I get
malaria or something like this.” Vishvamitra muni, what kind of tapasya, undisturbed, he did
not move a limb of his body, but Indra was also afraid of that, he must be wanting my abode. So
through Kamdev, he sent Menaka. And Menaka, her bangles made sweet sounds. What
craziness? after giving up all the pleasures. Vishvamitra muni was a great and powerful king,
he gave up everything. And some little pieces of metals clinging together ! But maya has so
ridiculously put us to shame. What really she offers us? what is sex? Srila Prabhupada said, you
just cut open the container; what is inside; mucous, blood and stool, urine and pus. You go to
the polyclinic at Mira Road and you see what is inside peoples body; it’s disgusting. As soon as
the body opens, all it is terrible substances, they smell horrible, it feels horrible, they look
horrible. Little thin layer of coating and we are mad for it and infatuated by it, and it is in the
process of being wrinkled and by time whatever looks pretty now, it is going to be just baggy in
a few years, you know it. Yet maya in such an embarrassing situation, for the pure eternal soul
which is a part of God which is full of bliss, to become infatuated and attached to a lump of
flesh. It is ridiculous, there is some spell, and some metal clinging each other, bangles, what is
so great about that. But Vishvamitra muni could not meditate anymore because if those metal
pieces of bangles bumping against each other terribly, he could not tolerate. So such a mental
game that maya plays on everyone. Maya means that which is not, it is not enjoyable, but it
appears enjoyable, but it is not beautiful but it appears beautiful. So he ended up getting
married to Menaka and after living with her for some time, he realized that I have fallen down,
I made a big mistake and he regretted everything. So he went back and began to perform more
tapasya greater that ever before. So Indra sent another heavenly damsel, Rambha. She was also
very beautiful and she also very beautiful and she also had nice bangles and anyway when she
was singing beautiful songs and everything. And when Vishvamitra muni saw her, he
understood that she has come to induce my lust, but I will not allow it to happen and he
remembered what had happened last time and he became intolerably angry and by his glance,
he cursed her to become a block of salt or stone. And again he lost the merits of his tapasya
because he fell down to anger.
H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj
Actual elevation means to become indifferent
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So in this world there are two principles that are always bewildering our mind; there is
attraction and aversion. There is hankering and lamenting. Attraction and aversion, they are
two sides of the same coin. Either one will cripple your spiritual progress. If you are attracted
to this material energy, you cannot properly fix your mind on Krishna and if there is too
much aversion to this material energy you cannot fix your mind on Krishna. Some we have
seen, devotees become fanatics, they become averse. When I was new to this movement,
bramacharis used to say; women are Maya, don’t look at them. We hate women, we spit at the
thought of women and everyone of those people all have wives and children. Now person who
is averse it just means they are attached, they are attracted and they sound somehow trying to
counteract that in an immature way by being averse. But actual elevation means to become
indifferent; not attracted not averse. An advanced personality is indifferent. A certain type of
respect/aversion for Maya must be there but it should be done with respect but too much of
aversion is simply the other type of attachment. Therefore in Krishna consciousness we want to
fix our consciousness on Krishna. We want to become free from either from aversions or
attraction to material energy.
The principle of surrendering and devotion
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Rupa Goswani explains in Krishna consciousness this type of detachment (to become
indifferent; not attracted, not averse) we can use in for Krishna’s service that is the highest
platform for self-realization. In India it is a tradition that sanyasis cannot leave if a sanyasi
leaves India he is doomed to be drowned in the ocean of Western material enjoyment and all
the propaganda around it. Srila Prabhupada experiencing the highest taste of Krishna
consciousness; he was truly detached on the order of his Guru Maharaj, he left alone with no
company, no servant,s no bramacharis, no Godbrothers; New York city the very heart of Maya’s
fortress of illusion. He just started right in alone, he was not attracted, he was not averse, he
was to the principle of self gratification, he was attracted to the principle of surrendering and
devotion that we must have and by and by his compassion and mercy those people that were
considered most untouchable became transformed into great Vaisnavas by the power of
Krishna coming through his devotional service.
Keep our mind always fixed in Krishna……..
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We cannot imitate (great souls), but we must guard ourselves by following strictly the
regulative principles, very strictly following the regulated principles. Not to associate with
anyone or anything for our sense gratification. With great respect we should honour all and
remain very pure. This is what Vedic culture is about, restrictions which maintain the stability
of one’s mind from being subjected to the influence of lust and wrath. And this is only
possible if we keep our mind always fixed in Krishna. Krishna says, “The path of Krishna
consciousness has two paths, to restrain one’s senses and fix one’s consciousness on Krishna.
That is the path of perfection”. We must restrain our senses from material enjoyment or for
subjecting them to be induced by the influence of material enjoyment. We must fix our mind on
Krishna through the chanting of the holy name, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna
Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Maya cannot touch a devotee who surrenders to Krishna
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We have read in these beautiful verses how Nara Narayana Rsi who is the expansion of Lord
Sri Krishna has such power over the illusionary energy of lust and anger, how free from any
pride completely satisfied in Himself, He conquered influences that no one else could conquer
and it is that Krishna with all of His power and glories who has appeared within His name and
promises us all protection Sarva dharman Parityajya- Abandon all varieties of religion and just
surrender unto Me, I shall protect you, you have nothing to fear. Maya cannot touch a devotee
who surrenders to Krishna. And how to surrender to Krishna? If we follow these simple
instructions, we are protected from falling down to attraction and aversion and if somehow or
other even in this situation, we may slip because we are in the atmosphere, and Krishna sees
that we are sincerely trying, He will pick us right back up and bring us back home, back to
Godhead. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna.
Solve the essential problems of
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This human form of life is the rare and precious opportunity to solve the essential problems of
birth, old age, disease and death. These four material miseries are underlying every aspect of
our lives. And they are inevitable. By any material arrangement, we cannot avoid this. We can,
at the best, postpone these miseries for any day. But as we see, as this age of Kali yuga is
proceeding even this is becoming very difficult. Srimad Bhagavatam explains padam padam
yad vipadam na tesam. We are living in a world where there is danger at every step. We do not
know what the next moment will bring. In the time we are living, wars appear to be imminent.
Earth changes can restructure civilisation as we note. There are so many diseases that are being
cultivated in societies due to karmic reaction, so many crimes, just innumerable uncertainties
that can come upon us at any moment of life. There is so much exploitation going on, as they
say, ‘the weak is the food for the strong’. And who is in power? Who has the strength in the
world today? It is a very unpleasant thought. So Krishna so kindly descends into this world to
give us the message of spiritual truth, which could actually solve the problems of birth, old age,
disease and death.
Turning to Krishna
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Arjuna was posed as the typical person within this material world. He was in a dilemma. He
was forgetful of his real duties in life. And therefore Krishna spoke the sacred teachings of the
Gita for the upliftment and purification of all humanity. And the great acharyas, many of them
were sannyasis, many of them grihasthas; family people, but they taught us by their examples
and by their words and by their writings, how to live in harmony with our own spiritual nature
and be happy. Real happiness - that is not subjected to everything going the way we want. In
the material world everything has to be just according to our necessities to be happy. If one
thing goes wrong - miserable. One little injury comes to you or your loved ones, one problem
that somebody else creates upon you, miseries of your own body and mind, adhibhautika -
miseries by other living beings and adhidaivika - miseries due to too much rain or too much
snow or too much heat or too much cold or the earthquakes that may come. A few days ago I
was on the Jet Airways from Germany to Mumbai. And some people were in first class. Some
people were in business class. And some were crowded in Economy class. And the airport was
closed. So the airplane was circumambulating for hours and hours, Mumbai. And first, second,
third class, everyone was frustrated. Everyone was miserable. And then there was, because of
storm, turbulence. And the turbulence was too much. And people were asking for their vomit
bags. First class, business class, economy class - the vomit bag is the same. It is not that if you
are first class, I paid three times as much. Why do I get the same turbulence? Maybe worse, if it
is more towards the front. Then the seat belts go on and everyone is thinking, the plane may
crash. It actually came near to crashing, it seemed. First class, business class, economy class, no
difference. Everyone had the same fear of crashing. So by our material arrangements and
manipulation, essentially we were all in the same situation in this world. And then somehow or
other- I was actually very happy. Devotees are different, the unusual type of people for the
way they think. Because while everyone was looking at their watches, looking at their vomit
bags, I was thinking, we are circumbulating Radha Gopinath temple. So everyone in the
plane is making nice spiritual progress. And I was just remembering Radha Gopinathji. We
have so many yatras. Sometimes we go on the boat to celebrate Radha Gopinath’s glories.
Sometimes we go to holy places to celebrate Radha Gopinath’s glories. Sometimes we dance in
the streets. That night we were just circumbulating in the sky. 30,000 feet above sea level.
Quite an experience. And then when we landed, we found out so many floods. Doesn’t matter
who you are. When the floods come, no vehicles work. You walk through the rain, upto your
waist, in water, getting soaked, whether you are an executive in a big industry, whether you
selling paan in a corner. Doesn’t matter. Everyone walks. And if you don’t know how to swim,
you don't know whether you will live. Here in great city of Mumbai, so much fortune, so much
wealth, so much power, but when the rains come, when the earthquakes come, what can we
do? What arrangement? There can be only one arrangement. And that - turning to Krishna.
A devotee is simply concerned with pleasing Krishna
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Krishna appeared in a wonderul form in the prison, to give happiness to His devotees. And
after Vasudev and Devaki offered their beautiful prayers to Him, He accepted the form of a
little baby, the most beautiful, charming, sweet baby, upon Whose very sight, melted one’s
heart with ecstatic love; upon Whose glance relieves one of all one’s previous sins. This was
Krishna. And by His direction, Vasudev carried Krishna across the Jamuna to Gokul. And it
was a very difficult task. The weather was something like last Friday night in Mumbai. There
were torrents of rain, there was flood. The river Jamuna was so flooded with such very fast
currents. And Vasudev was asked to walk all the way through. He was carrying Krishna. He
didn’t have umbrella. But he was willing to do it. He did not complain, “Krishna. You are
asking me to take You to Gokul tonight. It is raining out. How do you expect me. And there is
no boat at this hour of the night. It is midnight”. He had faith that “If I just do the will of
Krishna, my life is perfect. ananyas cintayanto mam ye janah paryupasate tesam nityabhiyuktanam
yoga-ksemam vahamy aha. If a devotee just tries his or her best, to perform service, Krishna will
preserve what we have and carry what we lack. Krishna told Arjuna, “You fight this battle. You
just serve Me to your capacity, whoever you may be. And if you are victorious of failure, defeat,
it doesn’t matter because pleasing Me is the goal of life. When I am pleased I will remove the
darkness of ignorance and I will elevate you the blissful state of divine consciousness.” So a
devotee is simply not worried about victory or defeat, success or failure, honour or dishonour.
A devotee is simply concerned with pleasing Krishna knowing that is the ultimate perfection of
all our souls’ desires. Krishna can do anything. He is the all-pervading parmatma. He is the
creator, maintainer and destroyer of everything that exists. If He wants us to succeed, who can
stop us? Our GuruMaharaj, Srila Prabhupada, in 1972, when there were only a few two
hundred devotees of the Hare Krishna movement. He said, “If you devotees only had complete
faith that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we can take over the whole world
and make it Krishna conscious in a period of only 18 days.” Why not? Why can Krishna not do
anything? But we must have that willingness. We must have that faith that if I please Krishna,
my life is successful.
PERFECT QUESTION AND ANSWERS
Devotee:
God has created dogs, hogs. Everything is the creation of the god. How is that he has not
given the hogs and dogs the power of discriminating the good and the bad?
HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj:
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Because that is the law of nature, that if you do not use something that you have, that is taken
away. Just like your leg, been put in the cast for six months. When you take off your cast you
have to walk on crunchers, your leg has lost its ability to walk because it has not used the
facility that it has, correct?
Anything in this world if you do not use it, you loose it in due course of time. If you have the
human birth which is exclusively meant for self realization; and if you neglect to use it for that
purpose, then the lower species of life is the facility where you can try to enjoy the facilities of
this physical body. But you loose the opportunity for self realization.
There are eight million four hundred thousand species of life, of which eight million have no
power to understand the goal of life. Why? Because they have unfortunately wasted the
opportunity previously, and so is been cast into those species of life. But each of those species is
gradually evolving through the process of spiritual transmigration. And ultimately all species
of life are coming closer and closer to the human form. And after perhaps going through the 8
million species you come to human form of life.
There are 400,000 species of human life of which most are uncivilized. When you finally come
to a civilized condition of life, then and only then you have the opportunity to perfect the needs
of the soul.
Then you are given discrimination, you are given intelligence and you are given the power to
choose which no other species of life is awarded. And the purpose of that independent choice,
the purpose of that discrimination and intelligence is to examine.
ATATO BRAHMA JIGYASA...
To enquire and examine, what is the goal of life, who am I, who is God and what is my
relationship. If you utilize your good human birth for that purpose and emphasise that. Of
course like animals, we have to maintain our physical bodies but that’s not the goal.
Like animals, we have to maintain our family but that is not the goal. The goal is self realization.
If you are not willing to use your life for that goal; and pursue that goal, then for one who
does not use they will loose.
Then there is nothing more unfortunate than that. There is no greater misfortune than wasting
the valuable opportunity of human birth.
Meditate on Lord’s lila
Dassera is the celebration of the grand victory of Lord Ramachandra over the mighty demon
Ravana and of course this is a factual historical event that took place in Sri Lanka, during the
Treta Yuga. But know that it is also a lila that can take place within your heart when you take
shelter of Lord Ramachandra. And therefore on this day, in preparation for this day, we should
truly meditate on what this lila truly means to us. What it means to our life. The symbol of
kama, ravana who is dwelling in the heart of all living souls, and is the single deadly enemy of
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every living being can all be defeated by the mighty glory of Rama. By remembering Rama, He
appears within our heart. By remembering Him, He kills all the demons within our heart.
Sure 100% method to conquer lust
So how to conquer this all-devouring sinful enemy-Lust? There is a method ... And it a sure
100% method. And the Supreme Lord showed us the method in a wonderful way. He sent to
this world, lust personified Ravana. Ravana was the most striking emblem of lust in the history
of all creation.
Sita Devi is the wife of Ram. Sita is none other than an expansion of Lakshmi Devi, the goddess
of fortune. All the fortune of the world is the energy of Sita. What is fortune .. Fortune does not
simply mean money. Fortune means anything good. Fortune means good health, popularity,
comforts in life, good friendship, good family, etc. Fortune means anything good in this world
and to loose anything good is misfortune. Lakshmi devi appeared as Goddess Sita. And
everyone knows Sita is exclusively meant for Rama. What is the definition of love? Love
means to assist Sita in Her affair with Ram. Is that not what Hanuman, Sugriva, Lakshman, and
the residents of Ayodhya did? The only desire of the residents of Ayodhya was to see Ram and
Sita happy.
But Ravana, he wanted to take Sita for himself. That is called kama or lust. In Caitanya
Caritamrita, Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami describes - love is that natural inclination of the soul
to want to give pleasure to God. But when the natural affection for God is misplaced, in trying
to enjoy the property of God for our own selfish desire, then that love is transformed into lust.
Love and lust is the same energy. Same inclination within us. Prema is when that energy is
placed toward God. When it is placed anywhere else, it is called Kama or lust.
So Ravana was very tricky. He disguised himself and stole Sita. And of course we read from the
Ramayan of Valmiki muni, how Lord Ram and His brother Lakshman looking for Goddess Sita
made alliances with Sugriva and Hanuma and together with a great army, they attacked the
island of Sri Lanka. And Ravana was so powerful that no one could defeat him. Between
Ravana, Indrajit, Kumbhakarna and the other Rakshasas, even the demi gods were totally
robbed of any pride and were living in utter fear. They were totally unconquerable by any
jivatma.
Ravana was the symbol of Kama. And know that any desire you have to enjoy separate from
the Lord is due to the presence of Ravana in your heart. Lord Sri Ramachandra wanted to really
show to the world, how powerful Ravana was, how powerful lust really is. Everytime he cut off
the heads of Ravana, another one grew. Doesn't that sound like our own material desires?
Everytime you do some yajna, sacrifice, puja and you give up one material sinful desire and
immediately another head grows. And you perform penances, practice yoga, take vows, to give
up this lusty propensity in your heart and finally you conquer it … and then … another head
grows. Those who are on the spiritual path, know that as soon as you cut down one head, 10
more grows. It is an endless battle. Finally Rama shot His arrow into Ravana's heart. When the
arrow pierced the heart, Ravana fell to the ground.
Rama is the only one who has this arrow. That arrow cannot be obtained by any mortal, any
jiva, any living entity. It is the exclusive power of Ram. That is why Lord Krishna says in the
Gita, this material energy is very very difficult to overcome. But one who surrenders unto Me I
take the war in My own hands. I will conquer lust. I will conquer Ravana within your heart. For
me it is not difficult. I will kill all the demons in your heart, with My arrows. When we
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surrender to the Lord, Ram appears within our heart. When we remember Krishna, when we
remember Lord Ramchandra ji, He is non-different from that remembrance. The process of
Bhakti is to always remember the Lord, to be His devotee, to always worship Him and to offer
homage unto Him. Through this process Ram appears within our heart and with His mighty
arrows, he shoots right into the heart of Ravana and all his heads and everything else falls and
disappears from our life eternally.
We just learn to take the name of Krishna sincerely
When Krishna appears in our hearts all ignorance, which is the cause of all suffering, will be
dispelled. And to invite Krishna in our hearts, we have to want Him more than anything else
in creation. If you love Krishna; you will have the deepest, greatest, more practical love for
your family members and all living beings. If you do not love Krishna, you do not know how to
truly love anything or anyone. Because real love is on the platform of the reality of the soul. Not
the flickering emotions and conceptions of the mind. Krishna has descended in this age of Kali
yuga within His name. If we take the name of Krishna in our heart, Krishna will reveal
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Himself. But we have to learn to chant the name of Krishna in a true spirit of humility and
dedication. Srila Prabhupada gave us a simple formula. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy.
And Krishna will reveal Himself through the beautiful sound of His name according to how we
approach the name. We should chant regularly everyday. It may take time to purify our heart
but even if it is, our life that is not much time at all considering through, perhaps, 8,400,000
births we have been forgetful of the Lord. We can perfect our consciousness in this one life if
we just learn to take the name of Krishna sincerely. And to associate with sincere devotees is
very important factor because the association of devotees in a mood of servant and befriending,
developing love and trust amongst the devotees and hearing from them, hearing the Gita,
hearing the Bhagavat, it promotes faith, it promotes determination and enthusiasm and to live a
life in such a way that Krishna will descend through His name to give us a real success in our
human existence, the happiness of divine love. This is what Srila Prabhupada gave us. This
simple instruction. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy. I would like to thank you very much.
Unity alone would empower
Due to egoism, everyone thinks, "I can judge others. I am right. You are wrong. If you stand
between me and my aspirations of profit, adoration and distinction then you become my
enemy." Where there is disunity amongst devotees; there cannot be proper sankirtan, we
cannot chant together in the proper spirit to please Krsna, we cannot serve together. When Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur saw his own devotees fighting amongst themselves, he was
willing to sacrifice everything and anything he had, to bring about unity. Because he knew that
unity alone would empower his movement to please Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and thus
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fulfill His mission. For Srila Prabhupada also, that was the great worry. "Show your love for me
by how you cooperate." This cooperation is not an ordinary material formula. You cannot
cooperate unless you are really trying to follow the essence of Srila Prabhupada and Lord
Caitanya Mahaprabhu's teachings. Without wearing this shloka around our necks, strung by
the holy name: trinad api sunicena, taror api sahishnuna, amanina manadena, kirtaniya sada Hari,
there can be no real cooperation, unless we are striving to be really humble devotees,
putting aside this egoism; Trample it down!
Devotee:
What is meant by self realization? Well one in the spiritual path also has to suffer, so what is
that they are achieving in the spiritual path?
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We have already explained the difference between the body and the soul. Jesus Christ said “be
in this world but not of this world”. The body will grow old get diseased and die. If your
pleasure is coming from the body then ultimately all your pleasures will get frustrated. But if
you are deriving pleasure from what is within, your happiness, your peace will never be
frustrated. Because that pleasure is not subjected to the natural conditions of this physical
world, that pleasure is on the spiritual platform.
Consciousness in itself is eternal. There is no such thing as temporary consciousness.

Consciousness is the symptom of the presence of the soul and all consciousness is eternal
because all consciousness is emanating from God. It is directly connected to God, who is the
supreme source of all consciousness.
It is just like a Sun ray. You as part of God are like a Sun ray and God is like the Sun. Now even
though a Sun ray may be on this earth, is the Sun ray is its home considered to be the earth or
the Sun, which one? The Sun ray is right here on the earth, but the home of the Sun ray is the
earth or the Sun? Because it is coming from the Sun, it is of the same quality as the Sun it is not
as the same quality as the earth, it is not coming from the earth, it is just happens to be here. But
it is connected through the Sun; it is almost like hanging from the Sun, right?
So, similarly are you conscious or unconscious. This world of matter is unconscious, all matter
is unconscious, but the soul is conscious. Therefore the soul has nothing directly to do with this
unconscious matter although it happens to be here, but its connection and its source is God,
who is the supreme source of all consciousness. So if you are relating yourself, if the Sun ray is
thinking I am part of this world, this earth. It isn’t but as long as it thinks it is, it is identifying
with the deadness of this world, right? But if the Sun ray understands its real position that my
real connection is to the Sun, my real source is the Sun, my real nature are part of the Sun. Even
though the Sun ray is on this world and is watching all the deadness of this world it is not
effected.
So similarly when we understand that we are part of the God, we are coming from God, our
real home is with God, we are eternally connected to God. Even though we may be in this
physical body watching the dead body go through the process of old age, disease and death, as
long as we are remembering our connection to God there is no suffering. Body is suffering but
the soul is finding its pleasure in God not in this world. The soul is finding pleasure where real
pleasure is, within your own existence.
Spiritual life is not mechanical
Enthusiasm is the life of the devotee of the Lord. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur says if
one is not enthusiastic to serve the Lord, then one is like a dead man. And one makes no
tangible spiritual advancement. Spiritual life is not mechanical. We can sit in classes and hear
very nice theoretical philosophy and we can have great conviction of our intelligence. That is
very good and important. But factually unless that philosophical conviction generates a sense
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of enthusiasm within one's heart for the service of the Lord, then it is like an empty decoration.
There is no substance.
Love for Krishna is not far away
The highest goal does not come at the time of death; it comes when we actually make top
priority of life, which is service of god in this life. We are not waiting for death to attain love of
god. If you do not develop love of god in your life, you will not have love of god at the time of
death. Therefore Prahlad Maharaj told to his classmates now is the time to lead a life of
devotion. And his friends were only 5 years old; this is the right time. Prahlad Maharaj had
pure ecstatic love of god as a small child and he lead his whole life expressing that love of god
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in a spirit of compassion to others, that we are what striving for. Love for Krishna is not far
away. It is the closest thing to your heart. It is the very essence in the core of your heart. Our
consciousness is running so far away, from the thing which is closest and nearest to us, do you
understand. Now is the time to begin redirect our consciousness within to our essence, to our
eternal spiritual nature. We cannot wait, if we waste our time death will come, it may come at
any moment, it may come today or tomorrow. Everything is so uncertain in this world. If we
haven’t deeply realised the absolute truth, then the time of death will proclaim a great sorrow
for failure of human life. Yes? or pursue the goal of pure devotional service now, and we are
already on the path of perfection. Srila Prabhupad told devotees “because you are living a life of
service to god, chanting the names of god you are already liberated.” Devotees were astounded,
though they were already chanting the names of lord, serving the lord, reading the Scriptures.
They understood we have so much envy, pride, greed, lust, within our heart; why our Guru
Maharaj saying that we are liberated now? Srila Prabhupada said “you are liberated because
you are acting living like a liberated soul, by following these principles. You have not yet
realised your liberated state.” So if we just follow the principles that Srila Prabhupad taught us
we are actually acting in a liberated state, by living in that state gradually we realise our
liberated condition. That is the perfection of life.
3 most essential qualifications in approaching a Guru
How to take shelter? Krishna says in Gita “tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah”. You see; it's not that you just accept
initiation; now I have a Guru, study Vedas, become Sanskrit scholar, become very learned.
Never!!! In billions of births, you will be bewildered & you will be so bewildered that you'll
think you know the Truth, but there are 3 most essential qualifications in approaching a Guru.
One is pranipat; that means the first thing you have to do is follow in Arjuna's footsteps.
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Karpanya dosho pahat svabhavat. You must accept that I am a fool. You must accept that I do not
know. You must accept that I have imperfect senses, I have a tendency to cheat, I commit
mistakes & I am invariably illusioned. That because I am covered by these defects I cannot
understand anything as it is. Therefore the first most important qualification is that you must
humble yourself before Guru. Whatever you know you have to put it aside & admit that you
don't know. That's the beginning. Otherwise you don't need a Guru. If you are not willing to do
that it's just a fashion, it's a fad, our Guru Maharaj used to say many people like to keep a Guru
like they keep a flower pot on a wall. They just see I have a Guru, Every now & then I water it.
They keep a Guru for their own prestige, but that is not correct. Through such a process the
transmission of knowledge cannot take place. Pranipat that means you have to humble
yourself, seek the shelter of the lotus feet of this personality. That I do not know anything,
please instruct me. Krishna, the JagatGuru Himself was not willing to say a single word to
Arjuna of transcendental knowledge until Arjuna came to this platform. Karpanya dosho pahat
svabhava As long as Arjuna thought I know what's best for me Krishna simply remained silent.
There was no use in talking to such a person who thinks he knows. He convinced against his
will of the same opinion still what can you tell a person who already knows. In classical music,
there was a very famous music teacher & it is described that he would teach the piano & if you
never played the piano before in your life he would charge you a certain amount of money for
the lesson & if you had already been playing before, he would charge you twice as much;
because before he could teach you anything he had to first convince you that you don't know
anything, otherwise you are a useless student, you'll always be second guessing or coming up
with another idea. And after pranipat is pariprasnena. Once you seek shelter and humble
yourself then you must enquire submissively. What is the real goal of life? What is the
Supreme occupation? What is the Real Dharma? What is the duty of a man about to die? Who is
God? What is my relationship? Who am I? Ultimately these enquiries fructify in the third
principle sevaya. Where we ask the question "How can I serve you Guru Maharaj". And how
do we serve? Not just by giving garlands or washing feet but by following the instructions he
gives us in our life day by day & when the disciple has this consciousness & this approach then
yasya prasadat bhagvat prasado, yasya aprasadan na gatih kutopi. It is described that when one
pleases the Guru in this way the grace of Krishna comes through him in the heart of the
disciple. The Guru is not Krishna, but the Guru is the manifestation of Krishna's grace in this
world; the delegated representative of Krishna to deliver the Supreme grace, the Divine grace of
God, into this world. So when one is favored by Krishna through such humility & devotion
then one can understand things, as they are not otherwise.
Complacency
Excerpt from a lecture by H.H. Radhanath Swami
Question: Maharaj, you mentioned in the lecture about how we take things, which we have
been doing for several years, for granted. You gave the example of television. The same thing
happens to us even in spiritual life because some things we have been doing for years together.
(It's like) You just switch on the 'television' in the morning, and start chanting and get on with
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it. It becomes very mechanical. We tend to take it for granted after some time. So how do we
avoid this?
Radhanath Maharaj: It is very important that we keep our intelligence tuned in to the good
fortune that we have received and never take it for granted. That is why it is important to
associate with people who truly understand the value of the gift that we have received and
hearing from them.
When we read Srila Prabhupada's books, when we come to the classes of the devotees, when
we listen to tapes, we should actually have this intent, not just to hear as an entertainment, but
to understand that I desperately need to hear, to keep my consciousness aware of the good
fortune I am receiving as well as the dangers of maya.
One of the greatest of all maya's arsenals to overcome us is the danger of complacency. Krishna
tells us in the Gita, "We must give up egoism and lethargy - two terrible enemies." Lethargy can
be both on the gross and subtle platform. On the gross platform, we are just lazy, we just want
to sleep. We don't want to do work. We rather just not exert our senses, because it is difficult.
This is a physical type of lethargy. But, the more subtle form of lethargy is to take the unlimited
value of the fortune of Krishna Consciousness as something ordinary. Or as they say, "You take
it for granted."
When we are new devotees, we are struck with wonder at our great fortune to be able to hear
Srimad Bhagavatam. 'It is answering all my questions! The holy name is giving me relief from
material existence. It is giving me a taste for Krishna', is our initial reaction. When we first come
to the temple and eat prasadam and see the Deities, we can feel how it is liberating our soul.
And the fact is that it is liberating our soul. But as we become familiar, we we take it to be
ordinary. As we take it to be ordinary, we are not really accessing the benefits. So we must
maintain great enthusiasm, and gratitude towards all the various subtleties of devotional
service. It is very important. Because, if we become complacent in our devotional activities, then
it is just a matter of time till maya again attracts us to perform her activities. We have to have
determination. Therefore, when we come to class, when we read the books, we should really be
trying to reconfirm the intense awareness of the great mercy we are receiving and reciprocate
with that mercy. Every time we chant japa, we should really be praying and struggling to really
be grateful and reciprocate with this great mercy we have received through Krishna's holy
name.
It is a miracle. It is a wonder. But yes, we just turn on the station, "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare." Then, when it is
time for the next show, we (unfortunately) turn it off. We should be very conscious not to fall
into that trap. Because if we do, we lose interest in that station and soon we will just start
turning on other stations at that time. Maya will seduce us.
So we have to struggle against this complacency. We have to pray. We have to endeavour and
especially, we must very attentively hear those messages that will reconfirm our awareness of
the dangers of material life, the beauty and sweetness of Krishna, the glories of devotional
service and how fortunate we are that by the causeless mercy of Guru and Krishna we have
received this chance.
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Nothing can save us except Krishna
The soul is part and parcel of Krishna. The soul's only true identity is to be the eternal servant of
Krishna. Our Guru Maharaj used to say, that people are under so many false designations, I am
man, I am woman, I am American, I am Indian, I am rich, I am poor, I am from this caste, that
caste which are temporary designations which only pertain to temporary external dress.
Krishna explains in Bhagavad Gita, that this body is only a dress. Some of us are wearing
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saffron dress, some of us are wearing blue dress, some of ladies have so many color dresses.
Srila Prabhupada used to say, when somebody asks you, what will you reply, I am Mr. White
dress, I am Mr. Black dress, I am Golden and Red dress, but actually saying, I am American, I
am Indian. Any designation pertaining to this body is an explanation of what type of dress
you are wearing. But, Who are we? What is your real need? That is what real religion is about.
To behave and act according to our original constitutional nature, which means to engage in
loving service to Krishna. By serving Krishna we naturally remember Krishna. And Srila
Sukhdev Goswami is explaining the Supreme sublime process of real religion to become free
from the miseries of the world one must hear, glorify and also remember the Personality of
Godhead Who is the Supersoul, the Controller and the Savior from all miseries.
Nothing can save us except Krishna.
Question: If we were all originally Krishna conscious, then why did we choose to be envious
of Krishna?
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The more important question is why you continue to be envious, right? You are a doctor; a
patient mistreats his health and gets sick, why did he do it? Because he is crazy. The question is
ok you have done it, now why do you continue to do it? That’s the real question. Here is the
medicine, the real question is why don’t you take the medicine and be cured.
The fact is that you are sick, you made a mistake. You have your freedom of choice; freedom to
love has to include the freedom to leave, right? Without freedom there can be no love. So God
gives us freedom, we misused our freedom and we left God.
We wanted to enjoy the position of God rather than accept the service of the Lord. So this
material world is a place to facilitate those who want to live independent of the loving service
of the Lord, those who want to be the enjoyer rather than be the enjoyed. Why you came here?
Because you have that independence, you have that right.
But now that you understand the predicament that you are in, the real question is why do you
remain here? Why do you remain in ignorance? Remaining in this world is no problem, we are
not against to this world, we are against ignorance. Even if you are in this world, if you are in
knowledge you are actually in the spiritual world. If you are in knowledge then you will see
that this is a spiritual world. But if you are in ignorance then you cannot see. The problem is
ignorance and the solution to the problem is knowledge, not theoretical knowledge but realized
knowledge. And that comes in the simple process of hearing in the association of the saintly
persons and chanting the holy names
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE

HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
Be loyal and faithful to Krsna
First we must know what we are aspiring for. We may be so many many years away from that
ideal. We must form this ideal as sacred in our life. We hear about Lord Krishna’s vrindaban
lila, we read about gopies of Vrindavan. They are pure unconditional selfless love. How far our
hearts are away from that, that is our aspiration to have such love. When we read about life of
great saintly person, it is something so far away from us. We still aggravated by so many with
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Peggy little egoistic problems we have it in life, but these great souls they are compassionately
delivering world. How far we are? We hold their example to be the sacred ideal, throned on the
alter of our aspiration. We have some thing to work for. We have something to strive for, some
thing to pray for, however long it may take we will never compromise or substitute that ideal.
Now in the west, you want to be someone dog is actually a very noble aspiration, because dogs
are very highly respected. People serve their dogs very faithfully. I have been on Park Avenue,
most expensive street in NewYork City, just next to Central Park. I have seen wealthy
millionaire, billionaires coming out of their 50 million-dollar apartment complexes. They will
have their dogs beautifully decorated, as they walking down Fifth Avenue; You know what
dog’s going to do in due course of time, dog does it. Now it is against the law to leave that, they
may consider it as dogs Prasadam!!! It is against the law to leave it on the street. I see these
wealthy ladies in beautiful Italian garments and men in very exquisite designed cloths with
fashionable shoes, they put gloves on their hand and they pick up the dogs remains and they
have a little special bags to put it in. And they put gloves in the plastic bag too. And they walk
around with it, till they come to city garbage disposal, then they put it in. And I was thinking
these are CEO of corporations, big big politicians and they most humble menial servants of
dogs. That is really a very menial servant and you are picking up their stools and walking
around. They were smiling when they were doing it, it was a joy. Actually they were doing it
with love and affection. I didn’t ask them, out of affection that stool might be smelling like
sandal wood oil to them. So people are serving dogs. But traditionally the quality of dog which
is most respected is its royalty to the master Yes??. There are stories, true stories – dogs that are
without thinking twice willing to risk their life or give their life to save their masters. Actually it
is common in history, when the master takes care of the dog nicely, that dog becomes so loyal
so faithful to do anything for the master. So devotee understands that in quality, we want to be
like Krishna’s dogs, in all circumstances we want to be loyal and faithful. And take such a
humble position in our loving service to Lord Krishna. Real devotees don’t want a big position;
they always want to put Lord Krishna and others in big high position. They simply want to be
faithful like dog for Krishna. Whatever you say, “I am yours”. That is a very very high state of
consciousness. We might be far away, but that should be our aspirations, not to become dogs,
but to develop that quality.
Surrender to Krishna with humility and love
Krishna says that as someone approaches Me, as someone surrenders to Me, I reveal myself
accordingly. If we surrender to Krishna with humility and with love then this divine energy
which all pervades everything appears as Yoga maya. In other words this energy of the Lord
reveals Krishna to us everywhere and in everything. This energy nourishes and increases our
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faith in devotion to Krishna at every moment; this energy simply acts to increase our love and
service to the Lord. But when we have separate desires, when we want to misuse our
independence for our own personal selfish enjoyment, then that same divine energy appears as
Maha Maya, where through her all pervading potency she keeps Krishna covered from our
vision. She keeps us under the misconception that we are this mind, we’re the enjoyer. And she
constantly makes incredibly wonderful arrangements to induce us to serve our own senses in
forgetfulness of Krishna.
In all situations we can shelter of Krishna
One must according to their sincerity and capacity we must restrain our senses on those things,
which are unfavourable for devotional service, and simultaneously we must fix our
consciousness on Krishna by engaging in positive activities of devotional service. In all
situations we can shelter of Krishna by chanting His name, by associating with His devotees,
reading His books and hearing His message. By channelising our physical energy in something
that is productive service. The ideal mind is devils workshop, when the mind is idle, it is very
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easily subjugated by Maya or the force of illusion. Therefore if we keep our mind busy with
Krishna with sincerity with proper association then gradually we become purified. And if we
are sincere as it is said god help those who help themselves, if we try according to our sincere
best, Krishna will help us. But we need the association of devotees, we need the blessings of
great souls and then we can overcome all obstacles.
Uproot that weed once and for all
We must be honest with ourself that “we are what we are”. When that seed of envy is watered,
we feel it coming up again. We should understand that for what it is, materialistic person when
they hear someone praised, they feel sense of envy and discomfort. They actually pursue,
pursue that tendency. They nourish that tendency, they see that that tendency is a very very
important flower within the garden of their heart and they want to water it nourish it even
protect it, Haribol! But a devotee understands that what it is? It is a deadly poisonous weed and
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if we nourish it, it will choke the bhakthi latha beej. The plant of devotion in its immature state
barely starting to grow out of soil within our heart by mercy of guru, we must carefully water
it. But we don’t want to water the weeds because when we do? how deadly? So when we see
those weeds; we understand what it is, we try to uproot it, we don’t nourish it, we don’t serve
it, we pray to Krishna please save me, please remove these weeds, please my Lord. We don’t act
upon it; we don’t speak upon it, we intensely chant the Holyname, take shelter of Srimad
Bhagavatham in our devotional activity in the mode of trying to uproot that weed once and for
all. That is the difference between sincere devotee and the person who is not very sincere.
Die before you die
For a devotee, death is not the end, for a devotee, death is the beginning, death is begging of
entrance into a realm of eternity, knowledge and bliss. But for a materialist, death is simply the
end of everything that we identify with, the end of our entire existence. So therefore a devotee
doesn’t mind getting old. Because he knows he is utilizing this body, this mind and this
intelligence in Krishna consciousness. As the body gets older the soul is getting closer and
closer to that eternal spiritual youthful form, therefore it is said, die before you die. If we do that
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before we die we can attain eternal life. Devotees do not fear death. A sincere devotee only
fears forgetting Krishna, forgetting Krishna means spiritual death.
The real bliss of Krishna Consciousness
It is our duty to be enthusiastic in our devotional service to God. If you go to a restaurant

waitress of the restaurant is very polite, she may not feel polite, she may hate you, but still she
says “Oh thank you very much for coming sir”. So we don’t act according to our mind’s
demands, we act according to what is best for us, according to our prescribed duty. It is our
duty to be enthusiastic whether you feel enthusiastic or not because that will please Krishna.
And if you do so; Krishna will see your desire and then He will fill your heart with real
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enthusiasm. He will pay you; he will pay you well by giving you true enthusiasm and deep
realisation. So the time we don’t have enthusiasm is the best time to make spiritual
advancement if you act enthusiastic any way. That shows we are sincere. Any one can do
things, which they like to do all the time, but the real bliss of Krishna Consciousness is
when your mind and senses say NO but your intelligence says I will do anyway for the
pleasure of the Lord for the service of the Lord. So you are acting in enthusiasm and
enthusiasm will come, not just the mental emotional state of enthusiasm, the real spiritual
inspiration of enthusiasm will gradually come.
One can never understand the essence unless one takes shelter of a bonafide Guru
Here Bhishmadev in a most wonderful way is enlightening us. He explains how Krishna is
working & why he does what he does through His various agencies. This time in this world no
one can understand. In fact in the Chaitanya Charitamrita there is a similar story. It is described
that there was a very very learned scholar & this man was considered the No. 1 scholar of
Vedanta in India. He was a Grahastha man, & he was Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. He was so
learned in the Vedanta plilosophy that even Sanyasis would travel far & wide to sit at his feet
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and to become his student to learn. And when the Supreme Lord Krishna incarnated 500 years
back in the divine golden from of Sriman Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He met with Sarvabhauma
Bhattacharya. He went to the Jagannath Temple & in the spirit of pure love of God, in the guise
of a devotee, He fainted before the deity of Jaganath. And Sarvabhauma took Him to his own
house to bring back the symptoms of life. He was practically unconscious in every sense of the
word; in His divine estatic feelings & when He came to consciousness; the son-in-law of
Sarvabhauma, Gopinath Acharya said "Do you know who this is". Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya
said, "I know who he is, He is only 24 years old and he took Sanyas, & he is got beautiful lotus
eyes, & wonderful complexion. I don't know how possible he is going to maintain his vows
unless he really scrutinizingly understands Vedanta & there is no one else who knows Vedanta
better than me so I should be the one to train him". And Gopinath Acharya said, "What are you
talking about, don't you know that this is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You consider
that you are more learned than Him that you can be His teacher". Then Sarvabhauma
Bhattacharya said according to the Vedas he is not the Supreme Personality of Godhead
therefore I cannot accept it. The Supreme Lord is called Triyuga, he only appears in 3 Yugas, he
does'nt appear in Kaliyuga. Of course Gopinath Acharya was also a great scholar of the Vedas.
It is explained in the Bhagvatam when Garga Muni came to meet with Krishna and his father
Nanda Maharaj, he told him that the Lord appears in 4 Yugas in 4 different colours. He appears
in a wonderful white complexion in Satya Yuga, He appears in a red complexion in Treta
Yuga, in a blackish complexion in Dwapar Yuga, in a beautiful golden complexion in Kali
Yuga. Why is it called Triyuga? Triyuga because in Kaliyuga He doesn't appear claiming Himself
to be God but He disguises Himself as a devotee of God for the specific purpose of training
people by his own example how to be a devotee of God. So Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya because
of his pride in being such a great scholar, he said that I cannot accept this & Gopinath Acharya
felt very sorry for his uncle. He said, “My dear uncle I must say that you are just a reservoir of
useless knowledge of the Vedanta because factually unless you receive the grace of God you
cannot understand anything in Truth”. And it is a fact "Tad vigyanartham sa Gurum eva
abhigachate". It is described in the Mundaka Upanishad that unless you study & humble
yourself under a bonafide Guru, you cannot understand the Vedas. It is impossible, there are so
many apparent contradictions, there are so many inconceivable ideas, you can never
understand the essence or the heart of it unless you take shelter of a bonafide Guru.
Always hear, glorify and remember Krishna
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally exhibited to the world the most exalted way of love of
God, which cannot be imitated by anyone. But he has also come to give entrance to the room of
God. Krishna Kaviraj Goswami explains that anyone who hears the pastimes of the Lord's love
will develop the love of god. So this is the mercy that Srila Rupa Goswami has given us with
beautiful verses. Srila Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has come to give us that no other incarnation has
ever given-the love of Vrindavan. He has come in this Kaliyuga to teach us how to bring our
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consciousness to our original state. In this world everybody is hankering for what we don't
have and lamenting for what we lose. But a devotee becomes 'Prasanna Atma' because by
chanting Hare Krishna and by following the principles of Krishna Consciousness the joyful
nature of the soul is awakened, and what is that nature-to always hear, glorify and remember
Krishna. So this is what all our life is about, to accept the gift of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and
in the association of devotees these are the only activities that go on, Hearing about Krishna,
chanting and remembering Krishna.
Process of Kirtan is actually the life in the spiritual world
In fact Srila Prabhupada has given us the way of life that we can naturally remember Krishna.
When we come to the temple, every thing is meant for this purpose. We see the deity and the
deity is non-different from Krishna. When we see the deity, we remember Krishna, when we
see the devotees, we remember Krishna and when we always remember Krishna we transcend
the three modes of material nature and the ghost of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu comes into
our life-and that is our longing. Let the mercy of Lord enter our hearts and make us mad………
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…mad with Lord’s name, chant His glories and dance. Srila Prabhupada explains one who
chants the mahamantra sincerely, his inclination is to dance. Why? Because when the soul
begins to dance in jubilation in the name of the Lord, naturally the body wants to dance and
this process of chanting and dancing is just what Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given us.
In the spiritual world, there is no talking- there is only chanting. And every sound is a song,
also there is no rocking, there is only dancing. This is Vrindavan. Brahma-Samhita' explains,
“where every step is dance and every sound is a song and constant companion is Krishna." Srila
Prabhupada explains the process of Kirtan is actually the life in the spiritual world. What Lord
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has done through Harman Sankirtan Movement is that He has given us
entry into the spiritual world by chanting, dancing and feasting.
“If you want to please me, distribute my books” - A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
He spoke these words “ If you want to please me, distribute my books” - What does it mean to
distribute his books. It means something much deeper than simply giving his books to the
people of this world. That is certainly one vital and essential aspect. But we have to understand
what are Srila Prabhupada’s books? They are not simply 350 pages of paper between cardboard
bindings with nice pictures. Srila Prabhupada’s books are the message within and it is a living
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message; it is not a dead message. It is not something theoretical, it is something practical. To
distribute his books means to give people this knowledge of Krishna consciousness.
Srila Prabhupada's miracle
Srila Prabhupada's miracle was, that he gave everybody the chance to become Krishna
conscious. And those who heard his voice and somehow or other connected to that urgency
within him, they became empowered. They were lazy hippies sleeping on the streets, never
worked a day in their life, then by contact with Srila Prabhupada, they were out distributing
books 15 hours day! Outside in the blizzard winters of the New York city! And the only reason
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why they came home is for mangala arati and to chant their rounds. They did this for years! In
the American cities and airports where practically no one is favourable, they risked their lives,
sometimes getting beaten up, blasphemed, but they were so enthusiastic! How did Srila
Prabhupada transform these people ? Because he gave them that sense of the urgency to
surrender to Krishna. If we are convinced of the urgency to take Srila Prabhupada's message to
heart today, Srila Prabhupada will empower us to do incredible things.
Distribute as many books as humanly possible
The internal substance of our movement will be recognized to the degree the devotees actually
live by what Srila Prabhupada has taught us, and live by the example that he has set. That is
where the real integrity will manifest. Prabhupada wanted us to distribute his books by the
millions. Now is the December marathon. How wonderful it is that we have the opportunity to
actually accept inconveniences, tolerate the dualities and approach every type of living being
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and try to give them Krishna. That sacrifice is so dear to Krishna. So let us distribute as many
books as humanly possible and actually we can do more than what is humanly possible.
The books point the way to the culture
Srila Prabhupada’s mission is very whole and we must consider and regard every part of that
whole. Srila Prabhupada established temples. Srila Prabhupada established asramas and farm
communities. He also taught personally the proper behaviour of vaishnavas toward Krishna,
toward one another and toward the people in general and through this, he gave us a culture.
And the books point the way to that culture. We must also provide the culture in which, after
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they can have conviction that they can live by and be protected by. That means a spiritual
environment.
Urgency of Surrender to Krishna
Excerpt from a lecture by HH Radhanath Swami
"Srila Prabhupada stressed the urgency to surrender to Krishna. Every line of his books, every
sentence of his tapes, you would hear him urgently, just pleading with you and me, to take
Krishna Consciousness seriously. Death, tragedy can come at any moment. And the greatest
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tragedy is that our faith is stolen away by maya and her various representatives which can
come in many forms. There is no comfortable position when we are secure in material existence.
We are like a drop of water on a lotus leaf. Our life is compared to that. Our position in society,
our health, our family members, our friends, everything in this world that exists is like a drop of
water on a lotus leaf. It is going to fall and we don't know when. It often happens at the least
expected moment.
Srila Prabhupada used the example of the goats that are on the way to the slaughter house. The
slaughter house person is very expert at pacifying the goats so that they very happily and
peacefully go to the chopping block by providing nice grass. The line of goats, they are just
eating grass and they are enjoying and the closer they get, the grass gets nicer and nicer. The
goats in front of them are getting their heads cut off, but they don't see that. They just see the
grass. Srila Prabhupada said, "That is how maya is orchestrating the entire material existence.
Don't be a foolish goat just trying to be happy and enjoy the comforts of this world, the
comforts of family life or a nice little floor in the bramhachari ashram".
We should know that any facility to enjoy in this material world is maya's trick to somehow or
other distract away from the urgent need to be Krishna conscious. Listen carefully to Srila
Prabhupada's voice when you listen to his lectures. There is always that deep sense of trying to
give us the feeling of urgency. It has to be done now! We have to take shelter of Krishna! We
have to surrender to Krishna! We have to give up our petty disagreements and work together
because the world is being condemned by the direction of modern society. "
"Srila Prabhupada's miracle was, that he gave everybody the chance to become Krishna
conscious. And those who heard his voice and somehow or other connected to that urgency
within him, they became empowered. They were lazy hippies sleeping on the streets, never
worked a day in their life, then by contact with Srila Prabhupada,they were out distributing
books 15 hours day! Outside in the blizzard winters of the New York city! And the only reason
why they came home is for mangala arati and to chant their rounds. They did this for years! In
the American cities and airports where practically no one is favourable, they risked their lives,
sometimes getting beaten up, blasphemed, but they were so enthusiastic!
How did Srila Prabhupada transform these people ? Because he gave them that sense of the
urgency to surrender to Krishna. If we are convinced of the urgency to take Srila Prabhupada's
message to heart today, Srila Prabhupada will empower us to do incredible things."
"I remember, when I was pujari, I was very happy doing deity worship day and night, year
after year, but I would always read Srila Prabhupada's books, hear his tapes, hear about how
Srila Prabhupada is so eager for us to preach. So I was praying to the deities, "I am very grateful
to worship You. But my Guru Maharaj keeps talking about preaching. Ultimately I want to
please him. I don't know what preaching is. But I want to please him. So whatever You think is
best."
And sometimes later I was given an order, "We need more devotees in the temple. Go out and
preach." I never asked. And who was I? From New Vrindavan. I smelt like a cow because I
would milk cows. I had one dhoti that had holes in it and an old blanket from the World war II
army that had holes in it. I was told to preach. Very little education. I went to one semester of a
Junior College. And here I was in Universities speaking to Ph.D candidates, Professors, and
they would be sitting in rapt attention, challenging and being defeated. And I was thinking,
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"What's happening? Who is doing it? I am a fool. I don't know much." But if we somehow or
other feel that urgency, Srila Prabhupada could do everything through any of us."
Srila Prabhupada’s books are non different than his lotus feet
When we chant Prabhupada's pranama prayer, we are praying to Srila Prabhupada and
offering our obeisances, because he is very dear to Krishna. How dear Srila Prabhupada is,
only Krishna can know. We can only, like a dwarf trying to touch the moon, aspire to
understand the glories of Srila Prabhupada. And the more we can somehow or other try to
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understand, the more our lives will be enriched with the causeless mercy of Sri Sri Radha
Krishna.
But how to understand Srila Prabhupada? He has given us the means by which we can do so.
We can only understand Krishna by the mercy of the pure devotee and we can only understand
the pure devotee by the mercy of Krishna. By purifying our hearts, Krishna will reveal the
glories and beauty of Srila Prabhupada’s life. By reading his books very carefully, with an
attentive desire to learn what Srila Prabhupada is saying. Srila Prabhupada told us that when
he was translating his books, he was individually, personally speaking to every devotee who
sits at his lotus feet to read it. Srila Prabhupada’s books are non different than his lotus feet.
When we are reading his books, we are sitting in his divine presence, hearing and speaking.
And when we follow what is in the books we get realisations - to associate with devotees, to
chant our 16 rounds minimum very carefully everyday, to follow the 4 regulative principles
and to help in every way possible we can, whoever we may be in expanding the message of
Lord Chaitanya throughout the entire world.
Art of serving Prasadam
Excerpt from an address by HH Radhanath Swami
We have begged the Supreme Lord for the supreme benediction of pure devotional service. The
acharyas have given us the mood in which we chant the Hare Krishna maha mantra - My dear
Radha, My dear Krishna. Please engage me in your loving service. And we should consider the
fruit of our prayers and our chanting when we have an opportunity to serve the Lord.
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We have been emphasizing throughout our lives Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s spirit of service and
how He has taught it to us - gopi bhartur pada kamalayor das dasanu das –servant of the
servant of the servant.
Serving prasadam is one of the most intimate and important forms of Vaishnava seva. We read
in Sri Chaitanya charitamrita, who happened to be the people who were serving prasadam to
the Vaishnavas? The most exalted devotees were eager for that service because they understood
the value. On several occasions we read, on the disappearance of Haridas Thakur, Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu personally, Himself was eager to serve the prasadam. But there were two
problems. He was so enthusiastic for the devotees to be happy with prasadam that His hand
would hold no less than what five people could eat. And the second problem was, no one
would take prasadam before the Lord. But still he was so enthusiastic, he was just going down
the line serving the Vaishnavas.
Similarly, after the cleansing of the Gundica temple, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally Himself
began to serve prasadam. The persons who took up the service of serving prasadam to all the
devotees were Swaroop Damodar Goswami, Kasisvara Pandit who was the godbrother of Lord
Chaitanya, the personal servant of Ishvara Puri; Govinda; great souls like Jagadananda Pandit,
who were devotees in the madhurya rasa. These were the people who took the responsibility to
serve the prasadam to the devotees.
Swarup Damodar Goswami was Lord Chaitanyas personal secretary and His most intimate
associate. It wasnt something that is left for the junior devotee. The senior most Vaishnavas
were eager to serve prasadam.
How they served prasadam, is a wonderful lesson for all of us. Taking prasadam is one of the
most important principles of devotional service, especially in the association of devotees. And
during festivals, it is very special because devotees are in such a joyful mood. Serving prasadam
literally means giving Krishnas intimate mercy. It is not like a waiter or a waitress in a
restaurant serving food. Swarupa Damodar Goswami and other associates were in a mood that
they were giving both Jagannathas special mercy in the form of prasadam to the devotees. And
how joyful the devotees were because they served with love.
They did not serve as a job. They did not serve because they were told to serve. They served
with love, with gratitude, in a spirit of service that each person while they were serving, they
were thinking, You are so kindly accepting this prasadam from my hands. That is the spirit.
Simply by learning the proper consciousness of how to serve Krishnas prasadam to the
Vaishanavas can make you a perfect devotee. And what makes prasadam very pleasing is not
how it is cooked, how it tastes, but very much by the environment created by the servers. The
appetite is stimulated by the environment.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explained, Even if the prince has the most opulent food and someone
insults him, he is so much stricken with grief that he cannot even eat anything. So, when we
serve very hygienically, very clean way, and our spirit is very joyful, very eager, full of humility
and a desire to serve and to please, it make the prasadam something very wonderful.
I remember when I was living in Vrindavan, 31 years ago, there was one old very great saintly
Vaishnava. He had very little of anything. Whenever I would go and meet him, there were two
or three sadhus that would sit and have hari katha. Very good devotees. And all he had was
one or two rotis. He was very old, in his later 80s. But someone would bring madhukari of a
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roti. And he would sit me down. He would serve me roti. I was just a little boy, but he was so
eager to please me. He was a mahatma. He was so eager to serve me prasadam. But that roti
was the best thing I ever tasted in my whole life.
Sometimes there would be utsavs with sweet rice and jilebis, but nothing could have tasted
better than that roti because the way he served it, just put me in a disposition of mind to really
appreciate that it is being served with such affection. This is actually Vaishnava culture.
At 26, Second avenue, Srila Prabhupada would personally serve the prasadam to the devotees.
Greatest need in society is for spiritual knowledge
In the Vedic civilization, the householder, it is their sacred duty to society to help others.
Whatever we have we want to utilize that not only for ourselves but for people who are in need
by giving in charity. And greatest need in society is for spiritual knowledge and therefore the
greatest charity is to support those persons who are surrendering and sacrificing their whole
lives to distribute spiritual knowledge. And also the nature of an advanced personality is that
they become humble. It is said that the tree that has no fruits stands very erect and says look out
how great I am? Look out how tall I am? Taller than all other trees. But a tree that has many
fruits bows down very low and the more fruits, the lower it bows. So those who actually have
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the fruits of good qualities in spiritual realization they naturally bow their heads down in great
humility before the Lord and all living beings and those who do not have such spiritual
realization, they are always trying to compete who is better I am better of course I am better. It
is Maya to think anyone else can be better than me, you have been captivated by the illusory
energy.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy
Lord Caitanya has given us life in the spiritual world, whenever the devotees are chanting and
dancing together, factually they are in the spiritual world. Whenever they are chanting the
maha-mantra; the names of Radha and Krishna; they are factually in Vrindavan. But the
problem is sometimes mind goes somewhere else, and we don't realize the ecstatic situation we
have been given but by gradually chanting, dancing and feasting, we will realize the ultimate
supreme gift that Prabhupada and previous acaryas have give us. So Srila Prabhupada said,
“Chant Hare Krishna and be happy”. Maharaj Parikshit has been explained here that this is the
supreme most religion, supreme occupation, most supreme duty of a man who is about to die:
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To glorify and to hear about Krishna and to remember Krishna. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Have genuinely humble service attitude
Only by chanting the holy names we can purify our hearts. Lord Krishna is not different from
his names. Unless we have genuinely humble service attitude or we are striving for that state
of consciousness, Lord Krishna does not care anything for your chanting of His names, it is
simply imitation. Chanting His names offencelessly means we have to please Krishna, that
comes by having consciousness by which we can worship the Name in the spirit of being
servant of the servant of the servant. Without vaisnava seva, your japa and your kirtan are
practically meaning less. But if you are doing vaisnava seva you will be very enthusiastic and
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attentive to do your japa and kirtan, because that is one of the most important of principle
services.
Do not imitate and pretend
Bhakthi Siddhantha Saraswathi Takur and all our acharya’s, they did not like people artificially
trying to imitate paramahamsa’s sitting in the holy places and just doing bajans. Because they
are getting lot of respect, they are getting lot of glorification being great mahatmas, but they are
not getting Krishna’s mercy. Because they have not understood the very basic principles of the
mentality of the spiritual world to be genuinely humble menial servant trying to carry out the
order of the Lord. Better to live in a city chanting 16 rounds attentively and carry out your
spiritual duties in humble state of mind than to live with the kings of holy places pretending to
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be a paramahamsa or mahatma.
The greatest act of compassion
Within this Krishna consciousness movement, Srila Prabhupada came to this world in the
divine mission of Sri Chaitanaya Mahaprabhu. In this age of Kali Yuga there is a great drought.
People are starving. The starvation is not so much of the belly, but it is the starvation of the
heart. People are lonely, even those who have so much money; so much affluence, everything in
the world that they possibly want. Their hearts are starving. There is no real satisfaction in their
lives. Why is this? ananda mayo'bhyasat. Every soul is seeking for pleasure. And the only
pleasure that can satisfy the heart is the pleasure of personal relationship with the Supreme
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Personality of Godhead and His devotees. And that is what we are starving for. And that is
what the whole world is starving for. And what type of drought and what intense relief are
required? So Srila Prabhupada, on behalf of the previous acharyas, came with the ambrosial
nectarean water that filled the hearts of all living beings and give them relief from all sufferings
and taste the sweet nectar of love of Krishna. He came with the water of Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu' s mercy, which the whole world was starving for. But what was His plan: to
distribute this water through the hearts of his devotees. Prabhupada explains, "The heart is like
an earthen pot." and Srila Prabhupada came to fill our hearts with Krishna consciousness and
he asked us to go to every part of the world and distribute that water, His mercy far and wide.
And of course we know that this is the greatest act of compassion and this is the ultimate
service that we can render to the lord by pleasing our guru Maharaj in this world.
Distribute the mercy to the whole world

Sometimes due to the highly polluted atmosphere all around us in this age of Kali, various
impurities enter the water of our hearts. And it is natural. So what is to be done? In Vaishnava
societies, our relationship with one another is really for the purpose of keeping each devotee fit
to distribute Krishna consciousness to the world. If impurities come into our hearts; that pot;
we must filter what is within it, but we should not break the pot. Because Srila Prabhupada
explains, " Once that pot is broken, it cannot be repaired by any means." Srila Prabhupada
explains that this movement will expand on the basis of love and trust of the devotees. It is the
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only means. Through our sadhana of chanting very carefully the Holy Names of Krishna, Hare
Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare
Hare, chanting 16 rounds minimal, very attentively every day, chanting in the beautiful
Sankirtan of the Holy Name in the association of the devotees, dancing joyfully for the pleasure
of the Lord, reading very carefully Srila Prabhupada's books with a deep desire to transform
our lives in hearing his nectarean words, by performing various services, rising early in the
morning, worshiping the Deities; through this sadhana, we are receiving the mercy of Guru
Maharaj and thus we are filling our heart with the water of his mercy. But that mercy is not to
remain simply in our hearts. It is meant to be distributed to the world.
How we deal with the Vaishnavas: they are sacred
It is the love and trust that Srila Prabhupada explains, amongst the Vaishavas that keeps the
devotees' hearts intact to retain the water of his mercy. If we crack each other's hearts, the water
cannot remain, nor we can bring it anywhere. And this is a great difficulty. There has been so
much, over the years, cracking of minds, cracking of hearts in so many ways that devotees lose
their inspiration, lose their enthusiasm to be Krishna conscious, to preach Krishna conscious.
We must be very cautious, very careful and very serious in how we deal with the Vaishnavas.
Because the Vaishnavas are so dear to Lord Sri Krishna, we must know that they are sacred.
They are worshipable. Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, in Sri Chaitanya Caritamrita, he
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described it in this way. He says that he wants to take the dust of the feet and worship every
Vaishnava, not only the great paramhansas, but even the new devotee who is coming to
understand the philosophy. This is the symptom of a great devotee: To honor, to respect the
sacred Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. And disrespect to any devotee is disrespect to guru &
God Himself.
We have to learn to deal with the problems
Srila Prabhupada said, “United we stand, divided we fall.” But in the age of Kali Yuga, how it is
possible to remain united. It is only by real understanding what it means to have Vaishnava
relationship. Otherwise, we can have everything else. We can have philosophy. We can have
sadhana. But without Vaishnava relationships, we will not be satisfied nor we can really
properly attract anyone else to take Srila Prabhupada’s mercy seriously. So we have to learn to
deal with the problems in such a way, following the footsteps of His Divine Grace. It is said that
great devotees are hard like thunderbolt and also soft like rose. Srila Prabhupada was very
strong in protecting the principles of Krishna conscious philosophy, the siddhanta of pure
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devotional service. But at the same time he was so expert that while protecting the standard of
Krishna consciousness, he did it in such a way to encourage the devotees, according to their
particular capacity.
Look into the reality of this world
On behalf of my Lord and Savior, my beloved Guru-Maharaj, Om Visnupad Paramhansa Sri

Srimad A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I would like to welcome you to this auspicious
event which I am greatly confident is most pleasing to his heart. Srila Prabhupada is a
compassionate Mahatma and a great soul. He sincerely has the most genuine concern with the
welfare of all living beings. The real welfare is that : we are all suffering and how to get out of
this situation of suffering. Some of us are conscious of the miserable condition of this
material world and others are so intoxicated by illusion that they are not willing to see. Srila
Prabhupada said that animals might be eating nice grass in the pasture and the butcher is taking
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one animal at a time and slaughtering them. But the other animals are so foolish; they do not
see that any moment it would be my turn. They are simply thinking how life is so nice eating
the grass. But at any moment, it is a fact, their turn comes and they are also slaughtered.
Maharaj Yudishthira has said when asked by the Yaksha, ‘What is the most amazing, wonderful
thing in this world?’ He said everywhere around us we see death, but everyone is thinking it
has happened to them, but it will not happen to me. So we are living our lives in this great
illusion. The real wealth of our great heritage is lost because we are so preoccupied like animals
just trying to enjoy eating the grasses of this material existence. Sometimes the grasses are bitter
and sometimes they are sweet. But we do not look into the reality of this world.
All the opulences of God are reflected by the soul
The soul is essentially pure; just as the sun in the sky is pure. And the rays of the sun are light
giving and beneficial for all living beings. But when the sun is obscured by a cloud, it cannot be
perceived. Similarly the beauty of the soul, who is a part of God, cannot be appreciated as
long as it is covered by the cloud of ignorance. The spirit soul being part of Krishna has all the
qualities of God in minute quantities. All the opulences of God are reflected by the soul. But the
cloud of ignorance hides the pure transcendental qualities of the soul. When covered, what we
see are the symptoms of ignorance - Lust, Anger, Greed, Envy, Illusion, and pride. The six
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enemies of the soul are very powerful, because they are completely empowered by Maya or the
illusory energy.
I am your servant
Ambarish Maharaj didn’t do anything wrong. When Durvasa muni came, Ambarish Maharaj
was fasting for the welfare of citizens. He took little carnamrta, which according to sastra was
breaking fast and not breaking fast. Durvasa muni wanted to murder him for that slight
defect. He created a monster to kill him. And Ambarish Maharaj stood with folded palms,
“Krishna! If you want me to die, I am ready. Durvasa Muni is not my enemy. You are appearing
before me in this form. Do whatever you want to do.” Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur prayed in this
way. “My Lord! If you want to kill me or protect me, I am your servant. You can do anything
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with me.” Durvasa muni was running from Sudharshan Chakra for one full year, and Ambarish
Maharaj was so respectful that he remained fasting that whole year because he won’t eat until
he served his guest. When Durvasa muni came at his feet and begged for forgiveness, Ambarish
maharaj was embarrassed and said, “You have made no offense to me. I am your servant.
Please have prasad.”
The true teaching of the Vedas
The future of the world is in the youth of India. So you have the greatest fortune, because not
only do you have the greatest spiritual culture behind you in this great nation, but you also
have the opportunity to understand the true substance of that culture. That is what Srila
Prabhupada has brought you: Krishna Consciousness. That we are not this material body.
Krishna consciousness is a completely non-sectarian spiritual movement. Because we do not
see you as Hindus, or Muslims, or Jewish, or Christians, or Jain, we say that every soul is part of
God. Every soul is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. And to realize the eternal
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nature of the soul, which is beyond all religion is Sanatan Dharma. That is the true teaching of
the Vedas. And to act according to the capacity of who you are, the soul, is the path of truth.
The real purpose of life is self-realization
In our educational systems today there’s practically no teaching of moral principles, there’s no
practical teachings of who you are, where you’re coming from, what is the purpose of life, who
is God, what is karma, what your sins are going to do to you. There is all technical data with a
promise to get some money, and people go through years and years and years of school and
this nation is so huge, practically a billion people, that you can get a Ph.D. and remain jobless
your whole life. I have met people with big big big big degrees, but there’re thousands of
people with those degrees, and only a few jobs. Thousands of people apply for one job, and
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one person gets it. The others drive rickshaws. The hope, the false illusion of the hope that
Maya gives us. But we should know that the real purpose of life is self-realization. We
should not be duped and fooled by all those terrible propaganda that is invading our lives. We
should have conviction that this is the purpose and the goal of life, self-realization: to realise
the eternal nature of my being and my relationship with God and to act according to the
spiritual principles; to find the blissful love that is within us and express that through our
occupation. That is the only proposal that will actually satisfy your heart. And that is what the
Bhagavad-Gita teaches us and it is a real science, a true science; the sciences that you learn in
school is basically just such superficial, externalised, speculative sciences.
Use all technical skills and sciences to save the planet by spiritual integrity
Technology: as far as how to manipulate matters, people are becoming very expert at that. But
as far as understanding why or how, or from where it’s coming, it’s all speculation. And the
way it’s being taught is these technologies lead to atheism, rather than leading to utilising the
resources of the world for a compassionate and noble purpose in life, that elevates our
consciousness. So we encourage students to remain in school, because technical sciences can be
utilised but we’ll never encourage anyone to go through these spiritual slaughterhouses in the
names of colleges and universities unless they have very very strong spiritual training, to
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understand how to utilise these gifts of technological knowledge. Otherwise it’s a curse. It is
there to make money, to get prestige and you suffer and you pollute the planet. And that’s all
that they do. Let us be honest, and blunt and come out of the illusion that everyone is trying to
keep you in. Progress in the nation, progress of divorce, breaking-up families, so much
secularism, Godlessness, AIDS and so many terrible diseases, greed, envy. Is this growing or is
it getting less in India? What do you say? You may have Kellog’s cornflakes now, and you may
have Ford motor company making their cars here now, and you may have mobile phones now,
but you also have families breaking to pieces, divorce, cigarette smoking, drug addiction just on
the rise, alcoholism, frustration. Is this what we want? We can use our mobile phones to
preach Krishna Consciousness. We can use it for business that will be utilised for some
higher purpose. We can use all these technical skills and sciences to save the planet if we
have spiritual integrity. And that is what this ISKCON Youth Forum is all about: Not taking
people away from their studies, not taking people away from their schools but giving people
spiritual integrity. Giving them conviction of what is the purpose and goal of life. Who you
are? This body, Srila Prabhupada said, is just a dead piece of matter that’s flapping for a few
moment’s only. That’s what life is. This dead piece of matter, the soul comes in it and it flaps
for a few minutes and then it dies. That’s it. And we’re making such a big thing about it.
Trying to enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, but people are not really enjoying. Such a facade. We should
understand that living a pure life realizing our internal integrity as parts of God, experiencing
the ecstasy of life. Life is within, life is that energy that brings consciousness to this flapping
body. To actually plug in to the essence of life and experience the sublime pleasure of life is
what human society is meant for. And ISKCON Youth Forum is to give spiritual integrity,
dignity, direction, and real joy to the lives of the youth of India and not just to keep to
yourself but to share it with others. Just don’t stand there eating the grass along with all your
friends when you see one by one everyone is getting slaughtered by death. Come forward and
say this is not what we want. There’s a better life, there’s a purpose. Here is the philosophy of
Gita. Here is the holy name of God, which can purify your heart.
Utilise your skills with spiritual purity
Srila Prabhupada gives the example that India is like a crippled man because it has been
exploited over the centuries, its given up so much of its own heritage and people come to India
from the west. What you consider middle class is poverty to the western people? They just see
poverty everywhere. It’s crippled the country. And in the western countries, for the time being
they’re very strong, but they’re falling apart too. Well there might be a few Indian engineers
and doctors who have nice jobs in the suburbs and they write letters here and say with some
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money and everyone thinks Aah !!! Very nice. But if you go there’s just so much poverty in that
nation; it’s terrible. But the poverty is different than India. In the poor areas of America there is
mass violence. You cannot walk out of your house at night. And your life is at high risk in the
day. But still amongst the middle and upper class, they have some material power. But
Prabhupada said if take that material power, the technology and economy of the west and join it
together with the spiritual vision and wisdom of India, the world can actually be put back on
the right path. And that is actually what you all have. You’re getting good education. Many of
you are studying to be engineers, many business, many commerce, doctors, accountants,
whatever it may be utilise your skills with spiritual purity, with spiritual understanding and
you can actually be a real human being that does great service for the world and you can
actually find real meaning and purpose of life and you can realise God through your life.
If you make Krishna the center of your life, Krishna will give you everything
So I have great prayer to all of you, just take this ISKCON Youth Forum very seriously. It is the
most important part of your life; don’t let anyone discourage you away from it. In the Christian
Bible it says ‘What is your gain if you win the whole world but you lose your own soul?’
Jesus Christ spoke those words to the people of the west. What is the use if you win over and
gain the whole world but you lose your own eternal soul? But if you find peace and joy within,
God will help you, Krishna will help you. Srila Prabhupada had nothing, he went to America;
he used to tell that he would come to India, he knew that the Indian people were so chasing
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after the wealth of the west, just be Krishna Conscious. He said look at me. He said I went to
the west with forty rupees, and now under me my movement is spending about fifty lakhs
everyday. So many temples, so many everything. He said if you were just surrender to Krsna
and you are willing to use everything in Krishna’s service, He can give you anything. He
said I never even tried for money. I just tried to serve Krishna honestly and to preach His
message and you all look; temples in Manhattan, New York city, temples in Chicago, temples in
Los Angeles, not just small, big, big, big, beautiful. When Prabhupada hears of the skyscrapers
in Manhattan so much, I remember in a lecture in Bombay, he was explaining, how many lakhs
are spent everyday in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. And it started with
forty rupees. Not that he was trying to convince people that if you take to Krishna
consciousness you will get lakhs of rupees. But what he was trying to convince people is just
have faith in God. People are thinking, if I chant Hare Krishna how will I make money?
People are so afraid; they’re so paranoid about money and economy. If I join this ISKCON
Youth Forum how will I possibly get good grades and get a good job. I’ll wait till after I get my
degree. But then after you get your degree, then I have to work and I have to work and I have
to work. This way your life is lost. And if you make Krishna the center of your life, Krishna
will give you everything. But most of all; He will give you peace, He will give you
happiness, He’ll give a purified heart and give you love. And materially; don’t worry about
these things. Just do your work honestly and properly with God in the center. When I first
came to India, I still have nothing but I’m not starving, but my biggest problem is trying to keep
prasadam away. People are always bringing me prasadam. When I first came to India I had
nothing, not even one rupee. If you take to Krishna consciousness you don’t care about these
things, then it comes, Krishna will maintain. Why people are so worried about all these things?
Because they have no faith. You live an honest life, you do your job properly in a spirit of
Krishna Consciousness, and you’ll find real happiness, you’ll find bliss and you can do
something great for the world.
What is the Real meaningful life
What is this ISKCON Youth Forum? It is an opportunity to realise the philosophy of Krishna
Consciousness. To learn it and realise it. The philosophy of Krishna Consciousness teaches
that by serving God we can actually become happy. We can actually transcend the modes of
material nature; we can transcend the death itself. But the realization of the philosophy comes
by practical devotional service. And Lord Chaitanya’s teaching is; the more you have to give
others Krishna consciousness, the more Krishna will give you. So it is an opportunity for all of
you to come together and to really experience what the nectar of giving Krishna consciousness
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to others means. How wonderful it is to be in the association of devotees. How wonderful it is
to actually assist Srila Prabhupada’s mission through whatever skills you have acquired in
colleges. If you know computers do something for Krishna with your computers. If you know
accounting do something for Krishna with your accounting. You can be married, you can have
family but you can still do so much for Krishna with these things. And then there is real
meaningful life. So this is really the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and the hard work of devotees
like Radheshyam, Rohinipriya, Yogeshchandra, Sridama, Gauranga, Devamrit, they have
actually dedicated their lives to give you the most precious gift of God. So please take it and
take it seriously. And make your life something wonderful and help make the world something
wonderful. Thank you very much.
Universal principal of true spirituality
It is explained that a person should receive the dust of the feet of the Lord’s pure devotee on his
head. Otherwise such a person is compared to a dead body. If we want to serve the holy name,
we must understand we cannot approach Krishna directly. This is very important. Universal
principal of true spirituality. We cannot approach Krishna directly, Krishna will not be
pleased, we are so full of offenses, so full of contamination and Krishna is all-pure. We
approach Him through serving and pleasing His devotees- yasya Prasadad bhagavat prasado
Yasya aprasadad na gati kutopi. If one pleases guru then one pleases Krishna. When one does not
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please his guru, one can make all wonderful grand arrangements but Krishna will never be
pleased. And what pleases guru is when we serve the vaishnavas in proper state of humility
and devotion.
What does it mean to take the dust from the lotus feet of devotees
To take the dust of the feet of the vaishnavas means to become simply a very very sincere
servant of such souls. So many egoistic people, who are seeking the opportunity for cheap
spiritual benediction, they grab the feet of devotees thinking that let us get the dust. Well that is
not what the scriptures talk about when they say that we must take the dust of the feet of the
great soul on our head. Generally such grabbing displeases the great souls. What we mean to
put yourself, to situate yourself at the lotus feet of the vaishnavas and that means to serve
them. We can explain in this way that the dust of the feet of the devotees is in the form of the
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instructions they give and to take their instructions and put them on top of our head which
means to make them our life and soul. Know them carefully that is what is meant by putting
the dust of the feet of the souls on our heads. To sit and hear what they have to say attentively,
those great souls who are accurately and humbly spreading the message of the Parampara. We
listen to that carefully, submissively and then know what they say, do what they say, for their
pleasure. This is the process of putting the dust of the feet of the vaishnavas upon our head.
When we are willing to do this Krishna is pleased with our efforts.
Real joy comes through loving relationships
If somebody reads Srila Prabhupada’s books, and thinks, yes this philosophy is very good. They are
wanting to see; is this practical way of life, or is this just a theory. This is what our temples and farm
communities are meant for: To show people that what is in the books is a practical way of life. If
they see that the devotees are happy living like this; that will attract them. Yes, this is what I
want. I am tired of trying to find happiness in the exploitative illusions of this world. I want to
experience the happiness of living in truth. So, that is the duty of all of us, by our example, to
attract people to Krsna. And we will best attract them by strictly following the principles of
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devotional service, and exhibiting a joy in doing so. We have already explained previously, that
real joy comes through loving relationships. By reciprocating with Krsna. That reciprocation
takes place in the relationships between devotees with each other. Krsna receives our devotion
through our guru and through the vaisnavas. Thus, it is perhaps the greatest need within our
movement today, to educate devotees how to live in loving relationships with each other. If
we learn this, we will be happy! And we will never leave Krsna consciousness.
Applying Srila Prabhupada’s teaching to our life
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself in the role of a devotee to teach us how to be
devoted. The basic principle of Lord Caitanya’s life and teachings is service to vaisnavas in
loving relationships amongst vaisnavas. So this must be very carefully and systematically
established in our minds. Devotees need to be protected. Devotees need to be cared for.
Devotees need to be loved. And devotees need to be taught how to show love. This is what Srila
Prabhupada has given us in his books. Actually, everything is in Srila Prabhupada’s books.
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There is no higher philosophy. There is nothing absent that we require in our life that’s not
there. But if we are not applying his teaching to our life, then there is dissatisfaction.
One day you are on top, one day you are down
The success of anything we do in our life is to the degree it helps us to elevate us to that state of
loving Krishna. In any other success in this world people may adore, is all useless. Shram eva hi
kevalam. What is the use, its all temporary. You all will be washed by the innumerable ways of
time and forgotten. We become successful in our life when we do something wonderful,
everyone praises us but the next day a different wave comes and we do everything wrong and
make mistake and everyone condemns us. That is the waves of time. One day you are on top,
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one day you are down. It is not on the basis of your free choice, it is just simply on a question of
your karma, question of your providence, question of the transient conditional of the three
modes of material nature. So why we think that is a great accomplishment to achieve anything
in a world where anything can be taken away any moment, anything can be rehearsed at any
second. Therefore Srimad Bhagvatam says the less we are progressing in the path of Krishna
developing a taste for hearing and chanting His glories then we are wasting our time.
Vaisnava relationship is based on the principle of service
We see that in various parts of the world, devotees are going to other spiritual organizations
who are saying that they are teaching something higher. But they are going to take materialistic
therapies or counseling. They are trying to find shelter in economic development. And in this
way, they are giving up their sadhana, and giving up the association of devotees. Actually,
practically anyone who leaves this movement the main reason is because they feel uncared for
and have unsatisfying relationships amongst devotees. Any devotee in the world who is nicely
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cared for and protected and feels loving relationships, never leaves our movement. So this is the
principle that our efforts in Bombay is based on, trying to help devotees to find happiness in
Krsna consciousness throughout their entire lives, by being protected, cared for, and having
nice vaisnava relationships. Vaisnava relationship is based on the principle of service.
Enthusiasm and patience = True surrender
But if we are simply patient and we are not enthusiastic then we are simply lazy. Spiritual life is
not for lazy persons. In India, people, the laziest people; think that this is the best occupation, to
become a sadhu. All you have to do is lay around in the temples all day, beg for some chapattis,
let people touch your feet and say "God's blessings are on you' and that's all you do. We have
seen many such persons.
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But actually spiritual life is defined in the Gita, Krishna is impelling Arjuna, not to be lazy, but
give all of his energy to fight for the sake of Krishna. And this is a real saintly person. He is
willing to give all of his life's energies, exhaust everything he has, for the betterment of
mankind in the service of God. That is a saint. Not someone who lays, and sleeps and eats some
chapattis.
So we have to be patient, but at the same time we have to work very hard with great
enthusiasm in the service of the Lord. And if we are very enthusiastic and patience, which is
based on faith in the word of God, faith in the mercy of God then the combination of those two
is surrender.
Prabhu
Srila Prabhupada explained we should address every other devotee as prabhu. Prabhu means
master, and we should address ourself as dasa or servant. It is very important, not only to
speak it but to feel it. If someone is prabhu; that means that they are my masters. I am servant.
Sometimes we misuse this word prabhu. Sometimes we say, “Prabhu, prabhu!, pick up my
shoes. You are nonsense prabhu!” This is not prabhu. This is just a word. Prabhu means master.
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We should mean what we say. And a devotee, whatever our position is, we are the servant of
everyone.
What pleases Krishna?
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is teaching us how to aspire for trinadpi sunicha: to be humble like a
straw in the street, the tree in the street. What is its significance? No one cares for it, people step
on it, spit on it, ultimately some body sweeps it away but the straw on the streets remains very
humble, let be more tolerant than the tree ready to offer all respects to others and to expect none
in return. These are the qualities that attract Krishna. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told Sanatana
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Goswami it is humility alone that pleases Krishna. Krishna does not care how much money
you give Him, Krishna does not care how many beautiful offerings you give Him, Krishna does
not care how artistically you dress Him, He does not care how profoundly you can speak His
philosophy, He does not care how many delicious preparation you can make for Him in your
kitchen, He cares for the humility with which it is being offered because it is this humility that
gives flavor and pleasure to the service we are rendering.
How we can serve everyone
This is what the sastras teach. To our superiors, we serve them by hearing submissively from
them, and by carrying out their orders. We try to, in a very humble and menial way, assist them
in their service to the Lord. That is how we serve our superiors. To those who are equal to us,
we serve them by developing very loving friendships. By becoming very intimate with one
another. And that intimacy should be based on Krsna consciousness. And helping each other,
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encouraging one another, should be enthused with devotional service. Rupa goswami explains
six loving exchanges. To very honestly reveal one’s mind, with the desire to progress in
devotional service. To hear another devotee reveal their mind in a very patient, understanding,
and helpful way. To give prasad. To receive prasad. To give gift, and to receive gift. And what
is the best gift? Inspiration for Krsna consciousness. So in this way, people should develop very
sweet and loving friendships as devotees. And through this process, we are the humble servant
of our friend. And those who may be under us in some official capacity, we serve them by
giving them guidance, by teaching them how to become better devotees, we are serving them.
Put your heart and soul in service
Of course the nature of humility is to want to do the very ultimately best we can possibly do
according to our capacity for Krishna’s service. If we are cooking; we should do it meticulously
and such cleanliness with best precious cooking ingredients, desire it in a most devotional way,
that is humility. If we are speaking; we should very very carefully learn the scriptures from the
proper sources and present them as it is which is philosophical. Whatever we are doing, we
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should put our heart and soul to do it with our capacity but we must do in a mood pleasing
our guru, pleasing the vaishnavas, pleasing Krishna. Understanding that we are helpless and
cannot do anything without the mercy of Krishna and the vaishnavas. mukam karoti vachalam
pangum langhayate giri. A lame man can cross mountains, a blind man can see the stars and the
dumb man can speak eloquently if he has the mercy of guru and Krishna.
We only have one identity
If we have an authoritative position, we should never think, I am an authority. We only have

one identity, and that is servant. The temple president is meant to be the humble servant of
every devotee in the temple. And how does he serve? By engaging them in service. Sometimes
by correcting them or even chastising them but it should be done in a spirit of servant, not in
the spirit of master. The GBC is meant to be a humble servant of everyone in his zone. He
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should humbly try to create an atmosphere in such a way that all the devotees can make best
spiritual advancement. It is a service. The disciple sees the spiritual master as master. However,
in Vaishnava ideology, the spiritual master sees himself the servant of every disciple. Srila
Prabhupada once said that I see all my disciples as the representatives of my Guru Maharaj.
That means by serving the disciples, he is serving his guru. In vaishnavism, however advanced
we become we never think we’re master. We become more and more humble in the mood of
servant to everyone.
We are servant of EVERYONE
Even to the conditioned souls, we should never think I am better than them. I should think I am
their servant. By giving them a book, I am humbly serving them or by giving them prasad, or
by preaching to them, I am their servant. And to the atheists who are very antagonistic and
envious, we are also their servant. How so we serve them? Either by defeating them. That is a
humble service. By crushing their misconceptions. That is a humble service. Or if we cannot do
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that, we serve them by avoiding them altogether, so they do not make offenses. As soon as we
think we are prabhu or master to anyone, we are in a very, very artificial state of consciousness.
What is our goal in life
Srila Prabhupada explained that in our temples, he wanted the Vaikuntha atmosphere. And
Prabhupada explained, what is the Vaikuntha atmosphere? When every devotee is thinking
every other devotee is better than me. I am the servant. That is Vaikuntha. Can you imagine if
everyone was thinking like that? What a sweet joyful mood we would be in? This is our goal in
life. Caitanya Mahaprabhu explained the highest principle is trinad api sunicena, taror api
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sahisnuna, amanina manadena, kirtaniyah sada harih. To feel oneself more humble than a blade
of grass, more tolerant than a tree, ready to offer all respect to others and expect none in return,
in this way, we can chant the name of the Lord constantly.
The goal of life
We must be pure in our own lives. Strictly follow the regulative principles. No illicit sex, no
intoxication, no gambling, no meat-eating. We must understand the philosophy correctly, by
reading Prabhupada's books. We must purify our hearts by chanting the Holy Names
according to his instructions and with the purification that comes through hearing and chanting
and living moral lives, we must exert all of our energy in trying to be the humble servant of the
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servant of the servants and work together. And working together means, I must sacrifice my
egoistic ideas for the purpose of co-operation. The eyes of the devotees and the eyes of the
world may not see that I can do what I can do, if I co-operate like this. But Krishna can see and
Guru will see, that I am trying to be a humble servant and that is the goal of life.
Every devotee’s body is a temple of God
There is a great need for training and education for all devotees. So if we actually live
according to the principles that Prabhupada has taught, we will be very satisfied and protected
in Krishna Consciousness. Each devotee has a physical body, emotional mind and spirit soul!
Correct? So to serve a Vaishnava means to serve all of these things. Sometimes if a devotee is
sick, and we just say, you are not this body, you are in maya; that is not service. That is
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ignorance. It might be true but it is not service. You are not this body, that’s correct, and you
may be in maya but service is to bring a person up to spiritual platform not to beat him down.
We should see that every devotee’s body is a temple of God. It is worshipable. It’s the means by
which we can show our love for that devotee by helping his bodily condition.
Humility...
"What is the meaning of sincerity? We can make a show of being great

devotees, but unless we are deeply trying to humble ourselves, our endeavour is not sincere. It
is superficial. It is not pleasing to Krishna. Therefore we must be sincere. We must endeavour
and strive and pray for this sincerity. To become the servant of the servant of the servant. To
realise that we are insignificant and fallen before God and that it is our only hope to take shelter
of His devotees and the holy name. In our japa, in our kirtan, to sincerely seek shelter of the
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holy name. These are the main duties for a Vaishnava"
HH Radhanatha Maharaja
Humility
"Krishna can see and Guru will see, that I am trying to be a humble servant and that is the goal
of life. And not cheap adoration because the nature of cheap adoration we've seen so many
times. We can reach the top and everyone will be praising. But because you displease Krishna,
you fall down to the bottom and everyone starts blaming you. Name and Fame does not last in
this world.
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Caitanya mahaprabhu asked Ramananda Ray, what is the real glory. What is the real name and
fame? Ramananda Ray, replied, the greatest fame is to be known as a humble devotee. Not as
the greatest this or that. Because if you displease Krsna, it will not last. So many empires have
come and gone. So many sadhus have become great and famous. But if they trampled on others
and offended Vaisnavas to get to that point, they get the name and fame for sometime and they
fall down from their position and everyone says, who are you? They don't remember. Once you
fall, they don't remember what you've done. They only remember what you are.
This is co-operation. Never to offend devotees. Or to create a difficult tense atmosphere, simply
for our own recognition. Because it is temporary. What the spiritual masters, the previous
acaryas and all the vaisanva world and Krishna will see is your humility, your sincerity, to do
the very best you possibly can in the spirit of co-operation and service. And if we develop this
wonderful consciousness amongst us, the temple will be an effulgent place. That will change
and transform the hearts of so many people. 1000s of people would want to come here. Raise
their arms and chant the holy name."
HH Radhanatha Maharaja on...
Devotee Relationships
"How many injustices came upon Srila Prabhupada in his preaching of Hare Krishna movement
all over the world, but yet he never complained. He was always eager to keep moving forward
as sincere loving well-wisher of even those who criticized and abandoned him. That is the
substance of this society - the forgiveness, the compassion and the humility of Srila
Prabhupada."
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"I would like to conclude with one last and very important principle of humility according to
Srila Prabhupada's teachings. Srila Prabhupada said, "In this age of kali yuga the only way one
can curb one's mind is by chanting the Holy Name with humility. Ultimately, there is no other
way. Krishna tells us in Bhagavad Gita how difficult the mind is to control. Arjuna said, "It is
more difficult to control the mind than the raging wind." We all know; every living being in this
material world knows how powerful the mind is when lust and anger and greed and pride and
illusion seek themselves in the mind, the mind becomes like an uncontrolled animal"
"Ambarish Maharaj didn't do anything wrong. When Durvasa muni came, Ambarish Maharaj
breaking fast and not breaking fast. Durvasa muni wanted to murder him for that slight defect.
He created a monster to kill him. And Ambarish Maharaj stood with folded palms. "Krishna! If
you want me to die, I am ready. Durvasa Muni is not my enemy. You are appearing before me
in this form. Do whatever you want to do." Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur prayed in this way. "My
Lord! If you want to kill me or protect me, I am your servant. You can do anything with me."
Durvasa muni was running from Sudharshan Chakra for one full year, and Ambarish Maharaj
was so respectful that he remained fasting that whole year because he won't eat until he served
his guest. When Durvasa muni came at his feet and begged for forgiveness, Ambarish maharaj
was embarrassed and said, "You have made no offense to me. I am your servant. Please have
prasad."
"When Srila Haridas Thakur was beaten in 22 market places he did not blame anyone. He only
prayed for the deliverance of the people who were trying to kill him and hated him. When you
are humble, you forgive people who create injustices to you. There is no envy. "I deserve
worse." That's humility. That's what purchases Krishna. Not this revenge, "I will get back to
you. You have done injustice to me." That is not the way a Vaishnava thinks. You may get your
fame and glory back in this world but you will never get Krishna."
"When a devotee is in a humble state of mind, that devotee can bear all sorts of injustices upon
himself, without complaining and without blaming others. This is a very important principle
and there are so many wonderful examples. Srimad Bhagavatam describes Prahlad Maharaj;
how his father Hiranyakasipu tried to kill him in so many ways through fire, through snakes,
through poison, through winds, through crushing under mountains, swords and spears,
elephants, but he never criticized his father, never blamed his father--he was humble. He just
accepted that it was Lord's mercy and continued chanting the holy name Hare Krishna Hare
Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare"
HH Radhanatha Swami
Spiritual Advancement
"In our International Society for Krishna Consciousness, when new devotees would come, they
were very enthusiastic, waking up for mangala arati, dancing like mad men and women, eating
very little food, being very strict. We used to call that the pure devotee syndrome. Instantly
they thought they were pure souls. However what is spiritual advancement?
Trnad api sunicena tarorapi sahisnuna

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amanina mana dena kirtaniya sada harih.
To be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, to offer all respect to others
and expect no respect in return. Only in this state of consciousness can we please really Krishna
and be empowered to constantly chant the Holy names. This is the quality that we are trying to
acquire through our bhajan, our sadhana and our service. It is this quality that will satisfy
Krishna. So vanity is one of the most powerful demons within our heart. There are anyaasis,
who live in strict celibacy, learn extensive scriptures, become very powerful in controlling the
mind and senses, but are simply the victims of their false ego. 'I am God!' 'I am most dear to the
spiritual master!' That is a great obstacle on the path of pure devotional service."
Love and Trust
"So within the Krishna consciousness society, Srila Prabhupada said it is based on love and
trust. Where there is concern, where there is development of love and trust, where Krishna is in
the centre of our friendship, where there is a spirit of servitude towards one another. When
there is nice chanting of kirtan, where there is nice sadhana, where there are nice relationships,
then devotees are satisfied, then there is no fighting. There is unity, there is peace and the unity
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among satisfied devotees is so powerful that it attracts Krishna to manifest Himself through
those devotees.
Krishna told that to the Prachetas. They were also underwater for some many thousands of
years. And lord Vishnu appeared to them and said because of your friendly relationships with
one another centered around satisfying Me, I am so pleased that I have come to bless you for
the fulfillment of all your material and spiritual desires. So there is really a satisfaction in the
heart that comes when we come together, putting aside our false egos for the higher purpose of
pleasing Krishna and pleasing the Vaishnavas."
H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj...
Everyone likes to show off to the opposite sex
So this is materialistic life, we become so proud and so attached to our powers, to our opulence
and our property. But Krishna, He took everything away from Kaliya. He lost all his strength.
Kaliya was naturally like every husband, likes to show off to his wife, just see I am the king, I
am undefeatable, I am best.
This is the nature not only of human beings but also of lower species, to show off to your mate.
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Human society, it may be your girl friend or your wife, in animal society-mate. But everyone
likes to show off to the opposite sex. To show that see, how great I am, see what kind of master
you have. So Kaliya was like that. And he was completely humiliated and embarrassed, and
before all the other snakes he was defeated, before his wives he was defeated, before everyone,
he was in a helpless condition.
So the Naga-patnis were saying, "This is very good. By Your mercy You have taken away all his
false pride and prestige, now he is fit to become Your devotee."
Too busy.....
"Sometimes we see that devotees are so busy, they have so many deadlines, so many quotas,
which are good to keep us fixed in our devotional service to accomplish many necessary goals.
But often times we are so much preoccupied by these things that we neglect the most important
part of our spiritual life, which is our sadhana and our relationships with other devotees.
Offending Vaishnavas is the greatest impediment to spiritual progress. If we offend devotees,

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Krishna withdraws his mercy. And all our devotional service is performed only to attract
Krishna's mercy. So this is very important. We can learn philosphy of Krishna conciousness in a
wonderful way, we can memories thousands of shlokas, we can memories entire scriptures and
can be able to present them so wonderfully to others, but if we do not know how to
deal with Vaishnavas, if we do not know how to serve Vaishnavas, scriptural study becomes
null and void. Because none of this is pleasing to Krishna. So this is the foundation in which our
spiritual lives, individually and collectively can grow and develop. So there is nothing that is
more important to put emphasis on than this."
H H Radhanath Swami Maharaja
How we can serve the body, mind and soul of devotees
One of my godbrothers, Dhananjaya Prabhu, told me the first story of the first festival in
Mayapur for Gaura Purnima. And the building, the first building was still a construction site.
And when the devotees were resting at night, Srila Prabhupada was walking around, looking in
each room to make sure that all the devotees were all right. He was very concerned that each
devotee had a mosquito net so that their bodies were not being eaten by mosquitoes. He was
very very concerned that devotees got proper prasadam that they did not fall sick. He was very
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much concerned that if a devotee was sick, that they would get proper medication. So we
should see the bodies of the vaisnavas as sacred, and we should try to help them so that their
bodies are fit to engage in devotional service. And by kind and encouraging words, we serve
and help the mind of the devotee. By propagating proper hearing and chanting, we are the best
service to the devotee’s soul.
Nothing can save us except Krishna
To bring our consciousness to the original pure state, that is Krishna consciousness, where we
have no desires, but the loving service of the Lord, because the soul is part and parcel of
Krishna. The soul's only true identity is to be the eternal servant of Krishna. Guru Maharaj used
to say, that people are under so many false designations, I am man, I am woman, I am
American, I am Indian, I am rich, I am poor, I am from this caste, that caste which are
temporary designations which only pertain to temporary external dress. Krishna explains in
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Bhagavad Gita, that this body is only a dress. Some of us are wearing saffron dress, some of us
are wearing blue dress, and some of ladies have so many color dresses. Srila Prabhupada used
to say, when somebody asks you, what will you reply, I am Mr. White dress, I am Mr. Black
dress, I am Golden and Red dress, but actually saying, I am American, I am Indian. Any
designation pertaining to this body is an explanation of what type of dress you are wearing.
But, Who are we? What is your real need? That is what real religion is about. To behave and act
according to our original constitutional nature, which means to engage in loving service to
Krishna. By serving Krishna we naturally remember Krishna. And Srila Sukhdev Goswami is
explaining the Supreme sublime process of real religion to become free from the miseries of the
world, one must hear glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead Who is the
Supersoul, the Controller and the Savior from all miseries. Nothing can save us except Krishna.
Modern technology- so many wonderful, wonderful things created by man, all trying to give us
shelter, to our loneliness, our frustration and miseries.
What does lust mean
Because human beings have an intelligence. And our intelligence must direct our mind. Unless
our intelligence is completely convinced on all levels of the truth and how to attain the truth,
we will not put it into practice. But the conclusion of the truth, is we have to ultimately
surrender. Which is the surrender of our consciousness, which is to love. Philosophy is like a
map. Which is necessary to give us directions. But it can never take you there, never could take
you there, never will take you there. Philosophy has never taken anyone to the goal of life. It
can only show you the way. It is by accepting the position of the most humble, menial servant,
which is what the philosophy ultimately teaches us, and by surrendering to Krishna in that
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mood, is the only process by which we can understand God. So therefore, it is very necessary to
scrutinizingly study the philosophy, but don't think that in and of itself will help you. We must
understand the essence - Bhakti and you must put that into your life. And if you do, your heart
will gradually melt. And in that state out of love, you will gradually begin to long more and
more and more for the presence of God in your life. Prabhuapada would often tell us, the price
of Krishna, is the tears that you flow from your eyes, in longing of separation from Him. We
must learn to long for Krishna. We must learn to long for the compassion to help every living
being who is a part and parcel of Krishna. And all of these glorious attributes are born from one
who attentively chants the holy name - Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Chanting the holy name by attentively offering
our consciousness to the process of hearing to each and every syllable. This is the goal of life
and the means to attain it.
So what does lust mean. Some people have a very crude conception that lust means some erotic
relationship, illicitly. That is a very very horribly gross idea of kama. But actually, kama means
any desire that is separate from God. So even some of the most pious, religious, sophisticated
men are victims of kama, in the true sense. Anything that is used for any other purpose
independent of God is considered in the Bhagavad Gita as Kama, lust, the all-devouring sinful
enemy of the world Ravana was the symbol of Kama. And know that any desire you have to
enjoy separate from the lord is due to the presence of Ravana in your heart. Lord Sri
Ramachandra wanted to really show to the world, how powerful Ravana was, how powerful
lust really is. Everytime he cut off the heads of Ravana, another one grew. Doesn't that sound
like our own material desires? Everytime you do some yajna, sacrifice, puja and you give up
one material sinful desire and immediately another head grows. And you perform penances,
practice yoga, take vows, to give up this lusty propensity in your heart and finally you conquer
it … and then … another head grows. Those who are on the spiritual path, know that as soon as
you cut down one head, 10 more grows. It is an endless battle. Finally Rama shot His arrow into
Ravana's heart. When the arrow pierced the heart, Ravana fell to the ground.Rama is the only
one who has this arrow. That arrow cannot be obtained by any mortal, any jiva, any living
entity. It is the exclusive power of Ram. That is why Lord Krishna says in the Gita, This material
energy is very very difficult to overcome. But one who surrenders unto me I take the war in my
own hands. I will conquer lust. I will conquer Ravana within your heart. For me it is not
difficult. He says, after many births and deaths of practicing various religious systems in the
world, the mystic processes of Yoga, when one finally comes to the point of knowledge, he
finally surrenders to Vasudeva. Surrenders to Krishna. Surrenders to Rama. Knowing Him to
the cause of all causes and the supreme of all that is. When you surrender to the Lord, you put
your life under His protection. That is the difference between bhakti and other yoga systems.
Whatever you do, you make a conscious offering to Krishna. And the chanting of the holy name
means to attentively hear. Attentively hearing means, offering the essence of your life, your
consciousness to the holy name, which is non-different than Krishna.Therefore, nama-sankirtan,
chanting of the holy name is the topmost simple and effective process of self-realization for all
humanity. Because it is an immediate, direct, opportunity for us to totally offer our entire
consciousness to Krishna. Just like in a sacred fire ceremony, the agnihotra, we take ghee and
offer it to the fire. The fire is Vishnu and the ghee is consumed by the fire. So when we are
chanting the holy name, we are factually doing the same thing. We are offering the very essence
of our existence, which is our consciousness, which is seated within our hearts, we are offering
that consciousness as an oblation into the fire of the holy name. This is the meditation that
should take place during our japa and during the holy kirtan of the Lord.
H H Radhanath swami Maharaj

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FOUNDATION OF SPIRITUAL LIFE
To the degree we serve our own ego or the ego of others, to the degree we are intolerant to
others, to the degree we demand respect or disrespect others, is to the degree we are servants of
our false ego. And we are bereft of our understanding of our real Krishna consciousness. So this
is what Krishna consciousness really is. It is an internal revolution of our inner consciousness
for the sake of bringing about the awakening of our real humility, devotion and our desire to
serve. As devotees, it is our goal of life to present ourselves in a way that Krishna can enjoy. We
want to present in our own life, beauty that Krishna can appreciate and take pleasure in.
Vaishnava etiquette is a process in which devotee deal with one another, relate with one
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another and it is based on those relationships that we make real spiritual advancement and
really attract Krishna. It should be second to nothing else. However much pressure, however
much necessity there is in our practical service, if it is at the expense of proper devotional
relationships with our godbrothers and godsisters and other devotees, we should know that we
are defeating our own purpose. Sometimes we see that devotees are so busy, they have so many
deadlines, so many quotas, which are good to keep us fixed in our devotional service to
accomplish many necessary goals. But oftentimes we are so much preoccupied by these things
that we neglect the most important part of our spiritual life, which is our Sadhana and our
relationships with other devotees. Offending Vaishnavas is the greatest impediment to spiritual
progress. If we offend devotees, Krishna withdraws his mercy. And all our devotional service is
performed only to attract Krishna's mercy. So this is very important. We can learn philosophy
of Krishna consciousness in a wonderful way, we can memories thousands of shlokas, we can
memories entire scriptures and can be able to present them so wonderfully to others, but if we
do not know how to deal with Vaishnavas, if we do not know how to serve Vaishnavas,
scriptural study becomes null and void. Because none of this is pleasing to Krishna. So this is
the foundation in which our spiritual lives, individually and collectively can grow and develop.
So there is nothing that is more important to put emphasis on than this.
BECOME A PURE DEVOTEE
We should begin our day by fixing our consciousness in Krishna, by chanting His name, by
studying His scriptures, by keeping all our senses very purely immersed in His loving service,
by performing some Puja. Let our day begin with this and this alone. Nothing else should be
our priority. Nothing else should be our duty in the morning except our Sadhana, our
purification. When we associate with saintly persons, naturally the quality of our devotion
grows. When we associate with Krishna, through His devotees, through His name, through His
prasad, through His Deity, through His books, through His word, through that association,
naturally, pure devotion awakens from within our heart. So this is the process how to become a
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pure devotee.
INSPIRE OTHERS
The spiritual master wants first class devotee to encourage all others. If you are not a first class
devotee to encourage others to be first class? It is your service to your spiritual master and all
the Vaishnavas to be first class, humble servant of the servant, strictly following the principles,
enthusiastic, always chanting Kirtan, hearing the philosophy, serving Gurudev and serving all
devotees. But this is not a material image. We are not doing for our own profit. We are not
doing for our own adoration or our distinction. We are doing it because it is our service to our
own spiritual master, for his pleasure and also because, in this condition, we can do the most.
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Whatever attributes we are seeming to possess in Krishna Consciousness, it is not ours. It all
belongs to guru and Krishna. And it is all meant to be utilised in their service. If we think that "I
am good devotee", that is false prestige. We should think that "I am nothing but guru Maharaj
and Vaishnavas are so kind that they are giving me a chance to take that gift of their mercy and
to utilize those gifts to help others." Whatever spiritual qualities you have, is by the mercy of
guru and Krishna and the Vaishnavas. It is not yours. Don't be proud of it. Take as much as you
can and utilize it for the service of guru and Krishna.
Where there is happiness, there is a seed of distress
A devotee of the Lord who is on the true path of Krishna consciousness does not take seriously,
any of the events of this world. He only takes one thing seriously i.e. how he is engaged in the
humble service of the Lord and His devotees. The non-permanent happiness and distress in this
world are not taken seriously by such a devotee, because where there is happiness, there is a
seed of distress. You cannot separate one from the other. This is the nature of material condition
of life. Therefore, one who strives with the temporary condition of material life is most
unfortunate. This human form of life offers the most valuable opportunity of self realisation of
self realisation and to utilize this human form of life for those things which are available for the
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dogs and the hogs and the cats, is a great sorrowful waste. It is like, if someone gives you
something most valuable and because you do not understand its value, you use it for something
which is so worthless.
This human form of life is an opportunity for self realization, to realize God. This human form
of life is such a gift, it is so precious, it is so valuable, that we can never understand. To even
utilize one moment of it for any other purpose is sorrowful. Therefore the devotees of the Lord
are not very concerned with heat or cold, happiness or distress, honor or dishonor. They are
only concerned with one thing - Are they only pleasing Krishna? A devotee's only concern is
"How am I pleasing Krishna?" And such a person can tolerate anything in the service of the
Lord.
By H.H. Radhanath Swami Maharaj
Chanting
When we wake in the morning the first thing we have to do is immediately start chanting His
holy names…very essential.
“My dear Lord, O Krishna, all-attractive supreme object of everyone’s love;

O Rama, the reservoir of all pleasure and happiness; O Srimati Radharani, the divine pleasure
potency and the bestower of devotion- Please engage me in your service; Please engage me in
the service of your servants”.
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We should be very determined to take shelter of the holy name-not just ritualistically casually
chant, but to take shelter- because Krishna IS in His name.
Take this Maha-Mantra as your life and soul, to chant with great attention and feeling, with
faith that this Maha-Mantra is the medicine that will cure all the disease of ignorance from
within the hearts; that this HARE KRISHNA MAHA MANTRA is the vehicle that will transport
our consciousness to the eternal spiritual realm of Vrindavan.
With every syllable of every name, we should be aspiring with great efforts to purify our mind
by concentrating it on that sound vibration. The name of God is so powerful like the River
Ganges – it bathes the heart of all sinful inclinations, of all unhealthy attachments.
Krishna is a person, and His name is a person…so when we are chanting…we are directly
dealing with a person, not just a vibration…So we should chant with great respect, great
attention…to please that person…if we are conscious of this reality, this truth, then how
wonderful will our chanting be, how sincere and how devotional it will be.
When we’re actually chanting in a pure state of consciousness, then we are directly in the
presence in a mod of reciprocation, with Radha and Krishna and Their whole entourage of all
Acaryas and everyone else.
We have to come and sit and really put our attention on Krishna’s name, and let that name
purify our hearts.
Nothing else around should in any way disturb us. We should actually chant our japa in such a
way that we have nothing else to do during that time-otherwise you cannot chant attentively.
And Krishna reveals himself according to how you approach him. If you are doing so many
other things while you are chanting your japa, then Krishna’s name will be doing so many other
things besides revealing Himself to you…
You should just sit and chant. We should really make a time of day where that is the only
priority. That is very important.
By chanting we are cleaning the environment of the mind.
His Holiness Radhanath Maharaj
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PERFECT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
HH Radhanath Swami
Vaisnava Monk
ISKCON
"Spiritual wisdom of India and material strength of the west together could bring great
prosperity to the world"
Deven: My family is against my devotional life. So, should I leave them (family) to continue on
the path of devotion? It becomes difficult, as in India family bonding is still very strong. Please
guide me.
HH Radhanath Swami: It will be best to respect your family. And treat them with such concern
and high quality behaviour that they learn to appreciate your devotion to God through your
good example.
Avi: How would you like to see modern India?
HH Radhanath Swami: Our Guru Maharaj told us that science and technology of the west,
harmonised with the spiritual knowledge and the culture of India, will bring great strength and
vision to the world. If there is a blind man and a lame man and if the lame man gets on the
blind man's shoulders, one will give strength and one will give vision. Thus, they can attain
their destination together. The great spiritual wisdom of India combined with the material
strength of the west could bring great prosperity to the world.
Siddharth Pandya: How do I get desire to progress in Krishna Consciousness?
HH Radhanath Swami: By associating with those sincere souls who have such desires. And by
engaging in those activities that increase our spirituality, we will become empowered by the
mercy of Lord Krishna with a pure desire to love God and share that love with all living beings.
Jumper: In today's scenario is world peace possible through non-violence?
HH Radhanath Swami: Yes, but we must understand what is the essence of non violence. This
subject is discussed in Shri Bhagwad Gita. There are three levels of Reality. We have the body,
the mind and the spirit-soul. Ignorance is violence to the soul. When we purify the heart with
transcendental knowledge and apply that knowledge to our practical life, we can attain
spiritual realisation. In that realisation we can experience the inner most nature of the self,
which is our eternal and unlimited love for God. In that state we attain eternal peace and joy!
The real secret of creating peace in
this world is when people strive to purify their hearts in this way and share that spirit in their
life. The simple method that is explained in the scriptures to purify the heart and experience
Divine Love is to chant the names of God. In our society we chant the names Hare Krishna,
Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare; Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
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Nivedita: Is it necessary to count while chanting the name of God? Why?
HH Radhanath Swami: It is necessary in the sense that the name of God is the perfect medicine
for the disease of ignorance. When a physician prescribes medicine he will instruct us that it
should be taken regularly to have the greatest effect. Chanting the names of the Lord according
to a vow of prescribed number has the greatest effect of cleansing the heart.
Sonu Abhijit: Who do you think has been the greatest peace messenger in the history?
HH Radhanath Swami: The Supreme Personality of God-head Lord Krishna is the source of all
peace and love. Krishna is the source of everything and the ultimate object of everyone's love.
When we forget Krishna or God, we fall into the material conception of Life, which is the cause
of all suffering. Lord Krishna has personally descended into this world and has descended as
many Avtaars or incarnations to bring about real peace within our hearts. He has also sent his
beloved sons, prophets and divine associates to perform this great mission of compassion. They
are all giving to the world the
eternal message of universal peace or Sanatan Dharma. We are now living in the Kalyug, the
age of quarrel and hypocrisy. In this age the Lord has appeared as Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
to give love of God freely to everyone and anyone, without discrimination, by teaching how to
live a life of service rather than exploitation. And by cleansing the heart by chanting the holy
names of the Lord.
Usha: Today the world is burning. In such a state of affairs, how can we convince people that
spirituality is indeed the solution to all the problems?
HH Radhanath Swami: Before we can save the drowning person, we must become proficient
swimmers. If we become convinced of the need for genuine spirituality and practise it in our
life, our words and our examples will have a powerful effect on those around the world and us
at large. My beloved spiritual master His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad
was one man from India who had such pure love. By his influence millions of people
throughout the world are finding unlimited hope and joy, living a life of sincere knowledge and
devotion. All of us are obliged to do our part.
Amol: With all the nuclear war heads ready to destroy the world now what should be the role
of religion and spiritual Gurus like you?
HH Radhanath Swami: To teach by words and example that real happiness is within our hearts.
It can never be found in acquisition of power, wealth or land. We are the eternal soul. As long
as we live in the misconception that this material body and I and that those things in relation to
the body are mine, we are a part of the problem of the world. The soul is eternal and is longing
to repose its propensity to love in Krishna. We can see to what extent man has come in trying to
satisfy his lust, anger, pride and greed. The development of nuclear weapons is severely
threatening everyone's life on this earth. We should try to spread true devotion in harmony
with the laws of God. Bhagwad Gita tells that the soul cannot be killed by any weapon.
Individually we can be fearless and joyful in all circumstances when
we realse this great treasure in our hearts. There is no nuclear war head or any other weapon on
earth that can take that treasure away from us. Let us live a life of peace and compassion and do
our part in making the world a better place.
Rajatm: How can you say that Krishna Consciousness is only way to world peace? Why not
some other movement like Art of Living etc. We are all confused about what is the right path?
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HH Radhanath Swami: The essence of all religion is to realise our
constitutional nature. That we are pure spirit souls, part and parcel of the Supreme Soul. All of
the great scriptures and true saints throughout history have taught us that we must aspire to
surrender to the will of the Supreme. We can do this by giving up sinful activities and making
our every word, thought and action an offering to the Supreme Personality of God-head.
Wherever we find these qualities is where we will find true Dharma or religion.
Shyamsundar: Please explain how the Maha Mantra has been scientifically proven that it brings
changes to human life?
HH Radhanath Swami: Science means there is a hypothesis, a process of

experimentation and the evidence of the hypothesis through scriptures, history and our
contemporary observation we can see how this Maha Mantra (Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare; Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare) has completely
transformed people's lives. We have seen even drug addicts, alcoholics and atheist become
compassionate instruments of God's love through sincerely chanting the Maha Mantra. It is
recommended in the scriptures as the most effective medicine in this age of Kalyug and we can
see practically how the transcendental sound vibrations
transforms peoples' lives by bringing mental peace and spiritual love. The mind is compared to
a mirror. When a mirror is covered by dust you cannot see yourself. This Maha Mantra is a
scientifically proven process by which we can cleanse the mirror of the mind of the dust of love,
greed and egoism. At that time we see through our mind the true reflection of the godly nature
of our own soul.
Arjuna: If Lord Krishna would be present in today's age, how would he deal with a situation
like today? I am asking this, as (even though he did not fight directly) he was present in the
battlefield during the battle of Kurukshetra?
HH Radhanath Swami: Krishna has appeared as Lord Chaitanya and has taught us to purify
our lives by chanting his holy name. It was a holy war because the Pandvas were pure souls.
They were being persecuted and exploited by the Kauravas. Thus, as Kshatriyas or warriors, it
was the Pandavas' duty to protect the society from the ignorance and exploitation of the
Kauravas. The real war must be fought in each of our hearts. Shri Bhagwad Gita teaches us
perfectly how to fight this war and be victorious.
Shreeta: Should spirituality be taught to children at a young age as they are the future
generation of leaders? But isn't a child's mind too raw to understand it?
HH Radhanath Swami: The most important time of life to receive spiritual direction is the time
of childhood. A child is impressionable. He or she may not be competent to understand
philosophy but if a child is taught through the environment around and the association of
spiritual impression there will be a great spiritual foundation built within his/her heart. The
greatest love of a parent is to serve the needs of the child's body mind and
soul.
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Sonya: Who is your inspiration and your motivation? What is the ultimate objective towards
which you are heading now?
HH Radhanath Swami: The greatest inspiration in my life is my Guru Maharaj Srila Prabhupad.
My sincerest motivation is to be an instrument of his compassion by assisting him in offering
this world the most priceless jewel of Krishna's love. And my ultimate objective is to make you
happy in this way!
Amit: World peace is needed to overcome the barriers to unity. What catalyst is needed to cross
the barriers to achieve harmony in human life, which in turn will affect the world peace?
HH Radhanath Swami: The greatest need to overcome barriers is self-realisation. We are all
eternal children of the same mother and father. To understand the soul and God is to see that
every living being is our brother and sister. In forgetfulness of our spiritual identity we identify
with the dualities of this world: American, Indian, Pakistani, Russian, African; Hindu, Muslim,
Christian, Jew, Jain, Sikh Parsi; Black (body), White, Yellow, Red; Man, Woman; Young- Old;
Rich-Poor. By identifying with these dualities there is so much conflict in this world.
Purification of the heart helps us to transcend these dualities that are temporary and superficial.
We are all God's eternal children. To love God is to see a part of God in every living being.
Beyond all such mundane discriminations it is
that love of God that can bring peace and unity. Every other solution will certainly fail in due
course.
Sign Off Message: I offer my gratitude and sincere prayers to all of you!
Hare Krishna!
HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj.
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Power of speech
A professional reciter or a person who has ulterior motives may speak very specifically through
quotations, the scriptures, verses, with so many elaborate explanations. But unless they are
genuinely blessed by the great souls to deliver this message with humility and devotion, the
potency of that transcendental knowledge cannot be disseminated and in order to realise
the truth we must engage in the application of that knowledge which is, humble service, for the
pleasure of Krishna and for the pleasure of His devotees. 'tad viiddhi pranipatena pariprasnena
sevaya upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah'. One who wants to know the truth
must hear submissively from a genuine spiritual master and then must render service.
So Sri Narada Rsi is here describing how he heard that confidential knowledge but along with
hearing from them he became their menial servant. In fact he became the servant of the servant
because it was his mother who was directly serving them and he was simply assisting his
mother in their service and by performing this act he pleased them and when you please a great
devotee of the Lord, that devotee becomes favourably disposed towards you.
That is really the meaning of a blessing.
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The asramas are like oasis
The asramas are like oasis where such pure water is always there to nourish
our spiritual consciousness. But outside of this oasis, it is a desert. It is a terrible desert. And
little by little as we exist outside of the association of devotees, outside of holy places, we
become weaker and weaker and weaker spiritually. We become more prone to deviate from our
vows, from our standards, from our Guru's desires. But, as preachers, because Lord Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, through the grace of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
Thakur, Bhaktivinode Thakur and Srila Prabhupada, they have given us a
chance to assist them in this preaching mission and in this preaching mission we have been
ordered to go into this desert to deliver water; not just to sit home and drink all day and night -
but to drink and to collect and to bring it in the desert and water all the desert like hearts,
drying up, withering away in
material existence.
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Service
Whatever the mind wants to do, wherever the mind wants to go, it is it's nature. It is
conditioned for too many lives in the past. Engage it in Krishna's service. Somehow or the other,
desperately we need devotional service. And when someone gives us devotional service, we
should not think that, that person is burdening us with some sort of work. Actually we have so
many other activities, so many other desires in our lives. The only thing that can control our
mind and keep it above the laws of karma is devotional service. We should be grateful for
devotional service, we should be desperate for devotional service. If someone is giving us
devotional service, they are giving us the means by which we can purify our heart. They are
giving us the only means to withstand and transcend the karmic influences of Maya within our
mind and within our life. There is no other way except engaging in Krishna's service which
begins by hearing His glories and chanting His holy name.
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Association
We have to come to satsangs. We may not like it, it may be inconvenient, but we need to hear
and chant in the association of devotees. It is easy to talk different types of village talks when
we have free time. But we should pick up the books and read or discuss Hari katha. We have to
be awake and on guard. The chanting of the holy names and serving Vaishnavas is our basis.
Egoism and laziness is our downfall. Where there is egoism and laziness, there is also lust,
anger, envy, pride, greed and illusion and so much envy. In Kali yuga, either you fill your
mind with Krsna or your mind gets filled with maya. There is no in between. But somehow or
other, we are here at this time, but there is one benediction. If we just remain united and keep
up this principle of sincerely chanting Harinam, and hearing Hari katha in a spirit of servitude,
Krsna will empower us to overvcome all the impediments of Kali. But we cannot do it only by
ourselves. We should see that we need each other.
HH Radhanath Maharaj
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Humility
this world.
this world.
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Devotee Relationships
"How many injustices came upon Srila Prabhupada in his preaching of Hare Krishna movement
all over the world, but yet he never complained. He was always eager to keep moving forward
as sincere loving well-wisher of even those who criticized and abandoned him. That is the
substance of this society - the forgiveness, the compassion and the humility of Srila
Prabhupada."
"I would like to conclude with one last and very important principle of humility according to
Srila Prabhupada's teachings. Srila Prabhupada said, "In this age of kali yuga the only way one
can curb one's mind is by chanting the Holy Name with humility. Ultimately, there is no other
way. Krishna tells us in Bhagavad Gita how difficult the mind is to control. Arjuna said, "It is
more difficult to control the mind than the raging wind." We all know; every living being in this
material world knows how powerful the mind is when lust and anger and greed and pride and
illusion seek themselves in the mind, the mind becomes like an uncontrolled animal"
"Ambarish Maharaj didn't do anything wrong. When Durvasa muni came, Ambarish Maharaj
breaking fast and not breaking fast. Durvasa muni wanted to murder him for that slight defect.
He created a monster to kill him. And Ambarish Maharaj stood with folded palms. "Krishna! If
you want me to die, I am ready. Durvasa Muni is not my enemy. You are appearing before me
in this form. Do whatever you want to do." Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur prayed in this way. "My
Lord! If you want to kill me or protect me, I am your servant. You can do anything with me."
Durvasa muni was running from Sudharshan Chakra for one full year, and Ambarish Maharaj
was so respectful that he remained fasting that whole year because he won't eat until he served
his guest. When Durvasa muni came at his feet and begged for forgiveness, Ambarish maharaj
was embarrassed and said, "You have made no offense to me. I am your servant. Please have
prasad."
"When Srila Haridas Thakur was beaten in 22 market places he did not blame anyone. He only
prayed for the deliverance of the people who were trying to kill him and hated him. When you
are humble, you forgive people who create injustices to you. There is no envy. "I deserve
worse." That's humility. That's what purchases Krishna. Not this revenge, "I will get back to
you. You have done injustice to me." That is not the way a Vaishnava thinks. You may get your
fame and glory back in this world but you will never get Krishna."
"When a devotee is in a humble state of mind, that devotee can bear all sorts of injustices upon
how his father Hiranyakasipu tried to kill him in so many ways through fire, through snakes,
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elephants, but he never criticized his father, never blamed his father--he was humble. He just
Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare"
Quality to Satisfy Krishna
"In our International Society for Krishna Consciousness, when new devotees would come, they
were very enthusiastic, waking up for mangala arati, dancing like mad men and women, eating
very little food, being very strict. We used to call that the pure devotee syndrome. Instantly
they thought they were pure souls. However what is spiritual advancement?
Trnad api sunicena tarorapi sahisnuna

amanina manadena kirtaniya sada harih.
To be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, to offer all respect to others
and expect no respect in return. Only in this state of consciousness can we please really Krishna
and be empowered to constantly chant the Holy names. This is the quality that we are trying to
acquire through our bhajan, our sadhana and our service. It is this quality that will satisfy
Krishna. So vanity is one of the most powerful demons within our heart. There are sanyaasis,
who live in strict celibacy, learn extensive scriptures, become very powerful in controlling the
mind and senses, but are simply the victims of their false ego. 'I am God!' 'I am most dear to the
spiritual master!' That is a great obstacle on the path of pure devotional service."
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Friendship
"So within the Krishna consciousness society, Srila Prabhupada said it is based on love and
trust. Where there is concern, where there is development of love and trust, where Krishna is in
the centre of our friendship, where there is a spirit of servitude towards one another. When
there is nice chanting of kirtan, where there is nice sadhana, where there are nice relationships,
then devotees are satisfied, then there is no fighting. There is unity, there is peace and the unity
among satisfied devotees is so powerful that it attracts Krishna to manifest Himself through
those devotees.
Krishna told that to the Prachetas. They were also underwater for some many thousands of
years. And lord Vishnu appeared to them and said because of your friendly relationships with
one another centered around satisfying Me, I am so pleased that I have come to bless you for
the fulfillment of all your material and spiritual desires. So there is really a satisfaction in the
heart that comes when we come together, putting aside our false egos for the higher purpose of
pleasing Krishna and pleasing the Vaishnavas."
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Too busy
"Sometimes we see that devotees are so busy, they have so many deadlines, so many quotas,
which are good to keep us fixed in our devotional service to accomplish many necessary goals.
But often times we are so much preoccupied by these things that we neglect the most important
part of our spiritual life, which is our sadhana and our relationships with other devotees.

Krishna withdraws his mercy. And all our devotional service is performed only to attract
Krishna's mercy. So this is very important. We can learn philosphy of Krishna conciousness in a
wonderful way, we can memories thousands of shlokas, we can memories entire scriptures and
can be able to present them so wonderfully to others, but if we do not know how to deal with
Vaishnavas, if we do not know how to serve Vaishnavas, scriptural
study becomes null and void. Because none of this is pleasing to Krishna. So this is the
foundation in which our spiritual lives, individually and collectively can grow and develop. So
there is nothing that is more important to put emphasis on than this."
H H Radhanath Swami Maharaja
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Class: Lord Nrsimhadeva & Prahlada Maharaj
My Lord Nrsimhadeva, please, therefore, cease Your anger now that my father, the great
demon Hiranyakasipu, has been killed. Since even saintly persons take pleasure in the killing of
a scorpion or a snake, all the worlds have achieved great satisfaction because of the death of this
demon. Now they are confident of their happiness, and they will always remember Your
auspicious incarnation in order to be free from fear.
Prahlada Maharaj in his prayers is expressing how everyone is so happy that Hiranyakasipu is
dead.
Hare Krishna!
And yet he loves his father, more than anybody could love a father, Prahlada loved his father.
And yet he is happy that he is dead.
Hare Krishna!
Now for materialistic people this is very very difficult for them to
understand this principle. In fact HH Srila Niranjana Swami Maharaj he told me an interesting
story:
There was a court case in Boston, against the devotees. He was the leader of the temple. So he
was on the witness stand. And the attorney, who was fighting against ISKCON was trying to
prove that Hare Krishna devotees are brainwashing young people, and part of the
brainwashing technique is they turn against their parents.
So in front of the jury, who were just American people, the attorney, I guess a prosecuting
attorney or whatever it is came with a big poster of Lord Nrsimhadeva. The famous one, where
he is very angry, ripping apart Hiranyakasipu and Prahlada standing with folded hands
smiling see attachment].
And these attorney’s they don't just let you say what the truth is. They coax you into saying
what they want you to say.
So he said - YES or NO, YES or NO, THAT'S ALL.
"IS THIS YOUR GOD?" pointing to Lord Nrsimhadeva.
He said Yes, he was trying to say something..
"NO, NO. I ONLY WANT YES OR NO."

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"IS THIS A DEVOTEE?" and he pointed to Prahlada.
He said Yes.
He said "IS THIS THE DEVOTEE'S FATHER?"
He said Yes, he tried to explain,
but "NO NO, IS THIS HIS FATHER?" "THERE ARE GOOD FATHERS, BAD FATHERS, BUT
STILL HE'S A FATHER RIGHT?"
"IS HE KILLING HIM?, IS HE TEARING APART AND PUTTING HIS ENTRAILS ON HIS
ROUND HIS NECK?"
Yes
"AND IS THE BOY HAPPY?"
Yes.
"So this is your philosophy"
Haribol!
So for materialistic people it is very difficult for them to understand these things. But actually,
Prahlada was truly the best well-wisher. That Lord Nrsimhadeva, the Supreme Lord Krishna
descended to personally liberate his father. Even though he was the most atrocious demon in
the history of the world. He loved to eat flesh, to drink blood, he was always intoxicated, how
many millions of people did he murder.
And Stallions and Hitler’s are little mosquitoes compared to Hiranyakasipu. Really they were
just conquering a few countries in Europe but Hiranyakasipu was conquering the universe. All
terrible violent means.
Yet the Lord is so merciful He came and gave him His darshan at the last moment of his life.
And also the Lord not only freed Hiranyakasipu from the oceanic quantity of sins that were
upon him but He also releived the world of the atrocities of his persecutions.
So Prahlada Maharaj is explaining that although saintly persons are para dukha-dukhi, they're
only suffering is to see the suffering of others. Saintly persons are forgiving, compassionate and
loving toward every living being because they see the essence of Krishna within the heart of
everyone part and parcel.
A true devotee is the well-wisher of everyone, he's only concern is the best interest of everyone,
wants everyone to be happy, really happy.
HH Radhanantha Maharaj
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Chewed as much as you can chew
Devotee
If one wants to become Krishna Conscious, does he has to do by native stretching of love or
force one self to get rid of these material desires?
HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj
One must simultaneously restrain the senses and fix the consciousness on Krishna; they must
go on simultaneously. We must accept what is favourable for devotional service even if we
don’t like it at all and we must reject what is unfavourable for devotional service even if we are
infatuated by it, even if we are obsessed with it, even if we are going mad after it, we must
reject it. And we accept what’s favourable even if it disgust us, we must accept, this is the
process and we can do it.
Krishna says you just try, you just try to surrender, I will protect what you have, I will carry
what you lack. Krishna will help us. So in the beginning there is some tapasya, but if we keep
our mind and senses engaged in Krishna’s service we can do it, we can do it, may be difficult
but even through that difficulties if we have nice association and we are doing things properly
even in that difficulty there is great happiness. But if we become lazy then that difficulty
becomes miserable. When you are enthusiastic and when you are not making aparadas, and
you are hearing and chanting nicely, even the difficulties of Krishna consciousness is quite
blissful, may be physically and mentally very difficult but there is a fulfilment in your heart,
you all have experienced that. But when you become lazy, then you become lazy in your
sadhana or lazy in your social service and you start thinking all sorts of excuses how not to do
which you know, you should do, then Krishna consciousness becomes very boring and
miserable. Then you start thinking what else I can do in my life, may all those things, which I
gave up before, maybe I should give them a second chance.
We were frustrated before we rejected it, and we gave it up, we were getting bliss in Krishna
consciousness, and now we think let me go again. When a devotee leaves they go back to where
they started, where they left off, have you seen, unbelievable. A devotee who joins the hare
Krishna movement in the 60s, in the 90s if he leaves Krishna consciousness he starts going back,
he is like in a different world, its like a time warp back to the 60s again, and people are looking
at what is that, that’s where he left the sugar, that’s were he left that chewed up cane, he is
going to pick it up from where he left it. How many times are we going to do that? Birth after
birth we have to be enthusiastic, if we put our heart into our service even the
difficulties will be satisfying.
Having Problems or Difficulties
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Devotee:
"Maharaj you said that difficulties come just to see that we come closer to Krishna but the
problem is when the difficulties come, the difficulties frequency is so high, one after one the
difficulties come. On the contrary one difficulty is not over before that another problem will be
standing in front of us. So the frequency is so high that we cant even think calmly or quietly that
this is the mercy of Krishna, instead of that we are so engrossed in solving that difficulty that
we don’t have time to think that this is Krishna’s mercy and because we are in a neophyte stage,
we can’t think it on a positive direction. So at time when the frequency if very high
or flow of problems is so high what should we do, because at that time we are completely
bewildered?"
That means that the difficulties are not enough yet. When the difficulties are enough you just
fall on your hands and knees say 'Krishna save me', so there is more to come. Of course if you
just hear Bhagavatam nicely and associate with devotees nicely and attentively you can do that
without so many difficulties. Just fall on your knees and hands and say Krishna save me and
because you have not done that yet the difficulties will get worse and worse and worse by his
mercy. That’s why Krishna is the supreme most merciful god. The demigods will give you what
you want, when you want if, you just pay the proper price. But Krishna will give you whatever
is required to make you fall at his lotus feet and surrender everything and
that is why not so many people come to Krishna.
I remember one time myself and Paramahamsa Krishna swami and a few others, we went on an
interfaith tour. And we went to one yoga community, it’s a beautiful community and these
people are so incredibly well organised, it’s unbelievable. They have a construction business
and so many of the grihasthas living there are the part of that construction business, and they
build houses for free for the community. And they build outside and they make a lot of money
and they are maintaining everything. The sanyasis and the bharmacharis they just need not
have to worry about one penny ever, and everything is so nicely organised and so harmonious
and everything is just the way you want it to be.
We were just travelling around this community and we were really impressed thinking, my
God, they are so very well organised, we can learn so much from them. And everything was so
clean and so nice and everyone were just “yes this is such a wonderful place”, everyone was
saying this is such a wonderful place, everyone were living there. And we were thinking yes its
wonderful place. They worship Lord Siva there, they have big Nataraj murthy there, he is
dancing. So we were thinking so many things we can learn from them, how to organise, how to
do business, how to keep everything very peaceful. But then as we were leaving we were
thinking that its wonderful place but its not a wonderful place to surrender, it’s a wonderful
place to be peaceful.
Then we talked to the Guru there, he was actually a very nice well wisher and he said because
you are the devotees of lord Krishna you can never have a place like this, he will never allow it,
the Guru was telling us like this. He says if we worship Krishna, we could ever do it like this.
Everything will be going wrong, he said because Krishna is purna avatar, he is telling us this
“Krishna is the fullest, complete manifestation of Godhead”. Therefore he will do whatever it
takes to make his devotee totally surrender to his lotus feet; he is not obliged to anything or
anyone else. He said therefore your community New Vrindavan is having so many problems.
He said, what do you expect you are worshiping Krishna. If you start worshiping the way we
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are worshiping those problems may go away. But if we start worshiping Krishna all those
problems may probably come here, he was saying like this. He said Krishna is the greatest of all
the gods, he is the purna avatar, the fullest, the most complete, he will do anything to make his
devotee surrender. So he was praising Krishna. And he said if you don’t want anxiety in your
spiritual life then worship another god. But if you want the highest level of pure devotion and
surrender then worship Krishna, but you have to pay the price.
It is simple and sublime
"Srila Prabhupada explained that in Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya we are Rupanugas -

followers of Rupa Goswami. Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Rupa Goswami for ten days in
Prayag.
Rupa Goswami was able to perfectly understand and imbibe Caitanya

Mahaprabhu's words. The path of bhakti is dependent on access to mercy. Sahajiya means to
cheaply try to understand these subjects. Rupanuga means to understand it as per taught by
Rupa Goswami. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was moved by genuine humility of Rupa Goswami.
This is prerequisite. In that humility they prayed 'you are patita pavan'. That was their spirit
and Lord Caitanya began to cry 'your humility is breaking my heart'.Through this humility
service attitude is the qualification to get mercy of Lord Caitanaya. We should realize Krishna is
within His Name. We can chant for million years but without his mercy we cannot realize it.
Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami came to teach this humility. Haridas Thakur to teach
tolerance. Srila Prabhupada said tolerance means forgiveness. We should tolerance the
onslaught of Maya and should be willingly forgive and prepare to be the servant of the servant
of servant. Bhaktisiddanta Saraswati Thakur stressed that by following 'tripnad api suni' the
highest realization will be revealed to us and that is to be a true Rupanuga.
Srila Prabhupada said we could serve him by taking shelter of Holy Name and that is the
foundation of our spiritual life. In beginning we should chant sixteen rounds attentively. And
realize that Holy Name is only shelter and we must take shelter of Vaishnavas to take shelter of
Naam. Srila Prabhupada said 'it is simple and sublime'. My sincere appeal, 'to understand with
grateful heart the treasure we got from Srila Prabhupada and to reciprocate with him. Don't
allow the mind and senses to take away this opportunity, Maya can snatch it anytime
unknowingly, unless we realize the value of what we have received. Chant with all earnestness,
be humble and serve every living entity in their relationship with you. As we advance we
realize that we are the servant of insignificant ant. Spiritual advancement doesn't mean having
high position; actual advancement is when we become humble. Be very conscious that the goal
in our life is to serve, to chant harinam and speak about Krishna and be instrument of
compassion.
Please take this message as heart and soul. We have heard this again and again but nothing is of
greater relevance to our spiritual survival. If we follow these principles then individually and
collectively we shall be able to follow Krishna consciousness far beyond our reach. Then we
shall see Guru and Krishna working through us. The nectar of Krishna consciousness is in
seeing the mercy of Krishna and Sri Radha working through us. Only humble and surrendered
can experience that joy. Krishna consciousness is to be instrument of mercy in this world. Those
who are expert in material world,their only happiness is what they can do but those who
depend on Krishna, can see what Krishna can do.
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Krishna wants to use everyone of us as instruments. Srila Prabhupada signed 'insignificant
beggar' in his prayer on Jaladuta. Srila Prabhupada is a true Rupanuga who imbibed the spirit.
Srila Prabhupada has asked us to be beggers for mercy, for true love of Vrindavan. It is my
most sincere prayer that all of you shall taste the nectar of Srila Prabhupada's mercy. Thank
you."
Devotee:
72. Maharaj we often speak of Love, but I sometimes feel that we really don’t know the real
meaning and the depth of what actual love is. I am not speaking about Chowpatti, but I am
seeing in other places that the dealings between the devotees are greatly lacking in this most
essential quality. So I would like to have a better understanding of what Love actually is. And
what is that in our heart specifically in my heart that is preventing us actually being ready to
understand what Love is which we can give to each other and all the living entities here?
HH Radhanath Maharaj:
Bhisma Dev defined love as to repose all one’s affection in one object or one person. And the
only person that any one can repose all their affection in is Krishna. So real love is to repose all
our affection on Krishna. And that love is perfect because Krishna is the complete whole.
Everything is within Krishna, If you love Krishna spontaneously you must love every part of
Krishna you must love all the energies of Krishna. That is the true essence of Love. When the
soul is liberated from false ego and all misconception that are born of the false ego, in that pure
state soul has no envy, no lust, no pride, no anger, no greed on illusion on the material level.
That soul simply loves. In material world that love manifests very primarily in the form of
compassion. In spiritual world it manifests especially simply in the form of pure transcendental
ecstasy in the pastimes of the Lord. That is what we are all striving to achieve. And in the
material condition of consciousness we have to learn how to respect each other we have to learn
how to show proper affection for each other. And these are ways of properly developing our
love, but to actually show love in a condition state is actually impossible. We can’t really show
love in the conditioned state because real love is something, which is pure nature of the soul.
Love of this world is different type of lust. Now the loving relationship between devotees, their
relationship that are conducive to the growing of real love or true love. You see nature of the
heart is to be affectionate, but we have to learn how to dovetail that affectionate nature in such a
way that love of god will actually develop from it. And if we cannot love those who are dear to
God then it is very difficult to Love God. And what we mean by this is unless we can show our
love for those who are dear to Krishna. Krishna will never give us real love.
SO therefore in the state of vaidi Bhakthi, we are living our lives to a large degree based on the
regulative principles. So as an austerity we have to be personal affectionate concerned
compassionate servants in the relationship with other Vaisnavas. Whether you feel like it or not
if you want Krishna consciousness you have to do this there is no choice. Unless you
affectionate concerned personal in your service to other devotees as well to the conditioned
souls. According to our relationship with them we have to serve them in different ways but it
should be done with the affection and compassion. That is part of the process of developing
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love of God. We can’t jump over it we can’t skip over it. Bhakthi means service. We have to
learn how to serve in such a way that is pleasing to Krishna and this what pleases to Krishna. If
you treat another devotee impersonal cold uncaring you are not pleasing Krishna. You are not
making advancement properly, if we just act according to how we feel, many people are very
conditioned to impersonal cold abuse life style of the past. So if we bring that into Krishna
Consciousness, and well I don’t feel love for this person so just treat him the way I feel, get out
of my way. That may be the way we feel about most everybody. We have to recondition our
selves, don’t act according to how you feel, act according to how Krishna wants you to act. If
that matches how you feel that’s wonderful, if that doesn’t does not matter. That’s how love
grows. Is that answers your question?
Devotee:
Yes thank you, it reminds me of English saying, “fake it until you make it”
Haa something like that, we don’t want to be pretenders we want to be doing

it to fulfil our goals. There are people who are as you say faking because
they want to get something material out of it and there are others who are
in once sense trying to follow the foot steps of great souls. You could say
that faking they don’t feel it but they are doing it because they want to
get purified. They are doing it because they want to please Krishna. And
someone else may be doing the same thing for some prestige or even to
exploit someone. This is one of the most expert ways of exploiting some one.
Really show them that you love them so they trust you and give your their
heart and give you everything. And just one day your are gone and they have
nothing left, Haribol !, that happen all the time in the material world.
Someone pretends that they love you, they pretend that they care for you
just to get something from you. But in Krishna consciousness even if we
don’t feel love we act as if we love, we act as if we care not to take
something from you but give something to you and to attract the mercy of
Krishna. It is very important we must be genuine. Thank you very much.
Srila prabhupad ki jay
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Devotee:
76. Those who have reached a highest position in material world it might be in sports or
business or in industry, these people say that they are not at all religious, they are not spiritual.
When you say that we can be more efficient in discharging our duties when we are Krishna
Conscious then why we are not in top most position then?
Your reference is very limited to what you perceive during this era called Kali Yuga. In
previous times everyone were religious. And most prosperous and successful people in all the
areas (walks of life) were the most religious people. In Kaliyuga what is religion is taken to
irreligion and what is irreligion is taken to be religion and see the condition of the world today.
Read the newspaper, What is the condition of the world we live in, it is full of problem it is full
of unsolvable complexities. It is about to just fall into pieces on every level economically,
socially. The most prosperous nation in America is United Nations of America. The economists
understand that at any moment or any second there is going to be a total economic collapse. A
couple years ago in that black day in October the whole stock market came very near to verge of
from crashing completely and bringing entire nation into utter depression, poverty. And they
know that one of these days it is going to happen. They are afraid to admit it. The national debt
in America is trillions of Dollars. America has nothing except debt and the whole world is
chasing after the ways of America.
There is violence in street in every city; every city is around 70% gutter in America. Although
people in India when they go as tourists they go to nice places of the city but 80% of the places
in inner cities are Garo, where there is simply crime murder and drug addiction. There are
sections of Newyork City where over half the population are addicted to cocaine. “Crack the
newest pleasure”. It is such a problem they don’t know what to do. Lakes are polluted, air is
polluted, and there is nuclear waste in the ground that is seeping through the vessels it is in,
and it is about to destroy the whole agricultural basis land. It isn’t one country, what to speak of
internationally everyone are ready to declare war on each other. And they are spending billions
of dollars in a day building nuclear bombs. That’s the condition of the world. And when you
say best people in society today are the people who are Godless, the best people in society
today are the people who make the society the world what it is today. And which is full of
problems and unsolvable dilemmas. Is that what you want? Do you want to be a part of the
solution or part of the problem?
Bhagavatham says
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Svavid varahostra Kharaih
Samstutah Purushah pasuh
Na yat-karna-pathopeto
Jatu nama Gadagrajah
That man who are like dogs and hogs camels and asses praise man who are bigger dogs hogs
camels and asses. So yes best people in the society are biggest dog’s hogs and asses. A saintly
person, who wants to see a saintly person? Only a person who is saintly, but people who are
mad after sense gratification they will be after people who are mad after sense gratification.
Therefore the greatest biggest people in the society are people who are most mad after sense
gratification.
You talk about athletes so what? Who is the best athlete, factually the greatest boxer was
MohmadAli, he was a very religious man believe me or not. He was a Muslim, but he would
get on to his carpet and do his obeisances to Mecca five times everyday religiously. He refused
to go to army because he would not kill, some of my friends are his best friends. He has a very
high religious integrity. He was nominated as athlete of the years years and years together. So
first of all you cannot say that the irreligious people are the best. He was the top athlete, he was
the most famous, popular man on earth according to polls. He was religious in his own way.
Now from the another point of view we have great soccer players, football players so what if
we want to calculate who is the best none of them can compete with ordinary animals out of
jungles.
Just like right now world’s best heavy weight champion is Mike Tyson, have you heard about
him? They say no body can defeat him he is so strong so merciless right? Everyone is afraid of
him. But I can guarantee you if you go into the jungles of Bengal and pick any tiger, you don’t
have to pick the best one, any tiger or any leopard or any cobra and put him in the ring against
Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson will not last one round. If you want to go closer to level of human
species, go to jungles of Africa and get any guerilla and put him in the ring against Mike Tyson.
He will not last one round; he will be ripped to pieces.
So what these men are working out training dedicating their whole life simply to do what? To
attain a state of success which is coming closer to the animals. Is that the perfection of life?
Krishna will fulfil his desire, in his next life he will be guerilla or a tiger. They don’t have to
work out; you will have all these potencies simply by his birthright. Human life now is who can
be better animal, in my country the more sex you can have the better of a man you are right? All
the movies some Hollywoods star within two hours on the silver screen of the movie you see a
man having sex with fifteen women and everyone going oh my God such potency. Factually a
pigeon can have sex 60 times a day. So all your HE-man mad show integrity does not even rank
up to a sickly pigeon. That’s what human life is to compete with pigeon? You cannot compete
with the Pigeons they are better than you, they always will be. The best you can do is to desire
so much so that in your next life you can become a pigeon. Then you really will be fulfilling all
your desires.
So human life is not meant for these attributes you are discussing. A real hero is the one who
conquers this urge of selfish enjoyment and works for the upliftment of the human society. That
is a real hero.
“A person who does his work, who does his service in the society in knowledge of the truth;
who is free from happiness and distress, honour and dishonour, pleasure and pain, who is
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always tasting the joy of the soul, a person who works for the benefit for all living beings
through whatever he does” - That is real success.
That is the glory of human life. Human life is not meant to simply imitate the animals. And the
names of all the athletic teams you are talking about they are all named after animals, I don’t
know so much in India but in America there is Chicago-BEARS right? They are all trying to be
Bears, Detroit-Lions, LosAngeles-RAMS, Pittsburgh-PENGUINS, Miami-Dolphins, Chicago-
CUBS, and also there is Chicago-Whitesacks, I don’t know who wants to be a white sack but. In
this way they are simply idealising the animals they are glorifying the animals we are like the
bears, so then you become Bear in your next life. So you don’t have to try, you need not have to
go to training camp to be a Bear. You can just be a Bear. You are training your
whole life to become a Bear. And then the same city of Chicago will capture and put you in a
cage in the Zoo so that everyone can look at you. And you will have a miserable existence.
Material nature has a very grand sense of humour.
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A moment's association with a sadhu
Prahlad heard the transcendental instruction of his guru maharaj Sri Narada Muni within the
womb of his mother and therefore he was under protection of Krishna under any circumstance
in life and he was also endowed with such devotion that all transcendental knowledge was
revealed to him. Of course when he asked his friends to take to the process of Bhakti when he
was only five years old, his friends asked him where have you learnt these things you have
lived in the palace of your father who is rakshasas, you have never met anyone except us in
regard to your friends and you teachers where did you learn these things.
He never saw his guru again for all those years he only heard at one time during his residence
in the womb of his mother. This is the power of the association of sadhus Mahaprabhu Sri
Chaitanya has said 'Sadhu sang sadhu sang sarvasastra koye.' That even a moment's association
with a sadhu has the power to completely transform one's life and open the doors to perfection
but how we hear from the sadhus? What is our anxiousness to receive that message and our
receptivity that is what determines how we benefit?
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Devotee
87. Maharaj last two days you have been talking about the degree of surrender “ to that extent
Krishna reveals himself and reciprocates depending on our degree of surrender”. So how do we
measure to what extent are we going?
It is a question of our sincerity, if we are really sincere it will be revealed by Krishna. Again we
must analyse in our own life, how much we are offering to Krishna, and how much we are
holding back. If we are sincere and honest it will be quite obvious to us, if you are not sincere
and honest then it will be a very confusing subject. Whether you are a bharmachari or a sanyasi
or a Grihastha or a Vanaprastha, whether you are a Brahman, Kshatriya or Vaisya, or Sudra the
same principle is there. What is ours to give it to Krishna? Our time, our intelligence, our
words, our wealth, our abilities, our health, of all of these things how much of it is really and
truly been directed. It may be direct or it may be indirect, but how much of it is either directly
or indirectly truly going towards the mission of Guru and Krishna, towards Lord Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu Sankirtan movement and how much are we keeping off to the side for other
purposes. Bhramacharies also they can keep so many things off, may be not wealth but they can
keep certain things for themselves in the side, by being lazy, by not being willing to do
whatever is asked.
So in so many ways at every movement we have a choice, we simply have to analyse both, each
part of our existence and we must also analyse the purview of our entire existence. And how
much of our life, which includes everything is directly or indirectly being utilised in the service
of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement? And how many of it are we trying to keep apart from
that. And if we are sincere and honest that we really do want to surrender then it is very
obvious and if we see that “my God I am really keeping a lot back! “, that should make us
humble. You should think God I am really not a good devotee at all, I thought I was but, when I
really come down to the philosophy I am not such a good devotee. How can I improve? How
can I gradually improve? And offer more and more and more to Krishna. It is very difficult and
often times are unadvisable to just surrender everything immediately because can you maintain
that platform throughout your life? But we should be at least gradually more and more and
more be giving our life for Krishna, never going a step backward, constantly going forward.
And we should also not see how much we have given, if we see how much we have given, we
become proud, that will spoil the offering, we should see how much we are holding back, this is
a humble consciousness. If a devotee thinks I have given this much he becomes proud and that
offering becomes tasteless to Krishna, but however much we give we shouldn’t even think
about that, we should think how much I still have left that I have not given then we become
humble. We become humble just see what a rascal I am, I have given 10 crore of rupees but I
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still have another 5 left, so that type of devotee doesn’t think I have given 10 crore, he thinks
what a rascal I am, I am keeping 5. In that way the ten given is offered in such humility and so
pleasing to Krishna, there is no pride.
Therefore a Bramhachari goes out and preaches to thousands of people, does he think I am so
great, I preached to thousands of people? No he wont think like that, he thinks oh I have been
contemplating 10 minutes for sense gratification, what a rascal I am, I could have given that
time to help people become Krishna conscious. In this way we should not be proud of what we
give to Krishna, we must be humbled by still how much we are holding back, and if that’s the
direction of our consciousness then we really make wonderful spiritual advancement.
And by that process it will be very very easy to come to some very nice calculation of how I can
improve in my devotional service. Because in most of our cases we have to simply try to
improve, gradually, continuously improve, do not try to be a pure devotee in one day, just
make progressive and steady steps forward towards pure devotional service every minute and
every day, try to improve everyday, and simply by that effort Krishna and gurudev will be so
pleased with us that their mercy will shower upon us every moment.
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Initiation
"When we chose by our sweet will not to serve the lord with love & try to exploit the resources
of lord then lord gives us facility in domain of Maya. Maya means that which is not. We are
eternal souls but we think we are these bodies & we are trying to enjoy through this body. Body
& mind are real, but for soul to identify that I am body
& mind is cause of all suffering.
Why are we looking for pleasure, because our nature is to enjoy spiritual pleasure. But due to
forgetfulness we are trying to enjoy separate from Krishna. Every action has equal & opposite
reaction. Lord has created 84lacs different species for us to enjoy. Thus birth after birth we are
suffering the 3 fold miseries. 'janma mrityu jara.' the
fundamental principles cause us so much misery.
But lord is all merciful, we may give up the father but the father never forgets the son in
whatever species in form of super-soul. He comes again & again to deliver us 'yada yada hi
dharmasya..' but he gives us the free will to accept him or reject him. Lord Chaitanya told Rupa
Goswami that the soul travels through so many species & only by great fortune he comes in
contact with devotees. In that association the dormant devotion awakens. 'adau shradha tatha
sadhu sanga.' in that association we gradually become sincere & then we approach the Guru.
Guru is not God, not a magician but is a humble servant of Lord. Thru his pure heart he reveals
the teachings of scriptures & Parampara 'evam Parampara praptam.' Guru reveals to us the
knowledge by words, teachings & prayers. Therefore Guru is representative of lord's mercy."
HH Radhanatha Swami Maharaj
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Five most essential principles
Krishna consciousness is the sharpest razor, but if there is any inattentiveness there will be
blood. So we must be very, very attentive and therefore we have to hear Krishna conscious
philosophy everyday in the association of the devotees, it is essential of the five most essential
principles, the pillars of devotion.
It is explained by Rupa Goswami that first principle is to associate with devotees, without
association for very very sincere devotees, it is not possible to make spiritual advancement. The
second principle is to everyday hear Srimad Bhagvatam in that association of devotees. The
third principle is to worship the deity with great care whether in the temple or in your own
home. The forth principal is to live in a holy place, a place which is conducive to the cultivation
of Krishna consciousness. And fifth principle of devotion of service is Kirtaniya sada Hari- to
always chant the holy names Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare
Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!
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Inspire Others
The spiritual master wants first class devotee to encourage all others. If you are not a first class
devotee to encourage others to be first class? It is your service to your spiritual master and all
the Vaishnavas to be first class, humble servant of the servant, strictly following the principles,
enthusiastic, always chanting Kirtan, hearing the philosophy, serving Gurudev and serving all
devotees. But this is not a material image. We are not doing for our own profit. We are not
doing for our own adoration or our distinction. We are doing it because it is our service to our
own spiritual master, for his pleasure and also because, in this condition, we can do the
most.
belongs to guru and Krishna. And it is all meant to be utilised in their service. If we think that "I
am good devotee", that is false prestige. We should think that "I am nothing but guru Maharaj
can and utilize it for the service of guru and Krishna
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TEMPLES
We’re distributing so many tens and millions of books all over the world and we must continue
doing so. But when people take interest in the book and decide let me go to the temple, their
philosophy makes sense, this is changing my life, I want to do it, I want to learn how, I need
people to show me to live by these books and when Krishna sees that interest, He sends them to
the temple.
And unless we’re prepared to welcome, to greet them, and teach them how to live by these
books, they will never make much spiritual advancement. Because in the books it says, you
must have the association of devotees.
Our temples, it is so very important that we learn the science of properly giving and receiving
the association of devotees. Actually every guest that comes is Krishna’s specially invited guest.
And it is our duty to give them every possible opportunity to make spiritual advancement. It is
the first priority.
Why are we spending so much money building big big beautiful beautiful temples all over the
world. It is to attract people to come. It is not just to attract them to come, it’s to attract them to
come but also to meet devotees and learn how to surrender to Krishna. If after spending
millions of dollars to build temples, and when people come and we don’t have time to teach
them how to be devotees, because we need to pay the bills, better we stay in the little storefront
or better we don’t even have any temples. Just sit on the street and meet people and teach them
how to become devotees.
And this is a fact. But BEST, we have our beautiful temples and we have beautiful devotees to
say HARI BOL ! Welcome. Please meet our deities. Please chant Krishna’s name and be happy.
Have prasadam my friend … Haribol!
Who would want to even leave such a temple. We should be blissful … “Thank
you for coming
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Engage in the service of the great souls
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has taught us this most valuable most precious and most worthy
endeavour in life: to engage in the service of the great souls and to hear from them, to chant and
dance with them. There is nothing precious than this and will be like this. There never was. Let
us calculate how many hours a day are we thinking of earning and protecting money. And how
many hours a day are we thinking the value of association of vaishnavas and protecting that
and nourishing that. To that degree we take this principle seriously to that degree we become
advanced. We neglect it to that degree we remain as we are. If we like it the way we are, ..(?)..
until you grow old and diseased and die. Then you regret. What have I done of my life?
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Enthusiasm is the life of the devotee of the Lord.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur says, if one is not enthusiastic to serve the Lord, then
one is like a dead man. And one makes no tangible spiritual advancement.
Spiritual life is not mechanical. We can sit in classes and hear very nice theoretical philosophy
and we can have great conviction of our intelligence. That is very good and important. But
factually unless that philosophical conviction generates a sense of enthusiasm within one's heart
for the service of the Lord, then it is like an empty decoration. There is no substance.
In fact this enthusiasm for the service of the Lord is so rare and so precious that even the Lord
Himself worships such a devotee who has such enthusiasm. It is described in the Caitanya
Caritamrita that at the temple in Jagannath Puri, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was once standing
at the foot of the holy Garuda stambha having darshan of Lord Jagannath. At that time a very
old woman, small in size, was very anxious to see Lord Jagannath. But she wasn't able to see
Him because she could not see over everyone's heads. So she was a woman and Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu was of course a sannyasi and those days 500 years ago, sannyasis were very strict
in the principles of sannyas and orthodox in their ways. But this woman personally began to
climb on the body of the Lord and was standing on His shoulders looking at Lord Jagannath.
So Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's servant became very angry at this woman. He said, 'you un-
civilized woman, what are you doing crawling on the body of a sannyasi. Get down'. When LC
heard his servant say like this He said 'No. No. Don't disturb her. How eager she is to see Lord
Jagannath? She did not even consider what she was doing and not doing. How could we
interfere with her darshan with her beloved Lord.' The Lord Himself said, Iam only praying to
Lord Jagannath that someday I could have such eagerness and enthusiasm to see Him as this
woman has.
In this way the Lord praised her for her enthusiasm to serve the Lord by coming before Him.
So, really, the real duty who are preaching the philosophy is not to entertain people with
fanciful philosophy or to theoretically convince people of the right way of life, but the
perfection of the preachers of sanatana dharma is to generate enthusiasm within a person's
heart to render service to the Lord and chant the holy names of the Lord. It is only through that
enthusiasm to engage in devotional service, the process of bhakti, that tangible spiritual
progress is made.
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What are the real first priorities of life
In Chaitanya Caritamrita, there is very wonderful example of such a personality. I would like to
tell you this story. Please understand that this person I am very doubtful if anybody in this
assembly tonight can imitate him. But we could learn from his example and follow in his
footsteps and strive for his realization. His name was Vasudeva and this Vasudeva, he had
contracted leprosy, terrible leprosy, very advanced stages. From the top of his head to the
bottom of his feet, his flesh was so contaminated by this disease that it became utterly rotten
and there was puss, terrible painful foul smelling puss, pouring from every part of his body and
there was contaminated blood oozing. He smelled so terrible that no one would tolerate being
anywhere near him and his flesh was so rotten that there were hundreds and thousands of
worms in every part of his body eating him away, just eating him and eating his body. And
when one of the worms would fall, Vasudeva would very carefully pick it up, and place it back
and he would think that God has given me this body and Krishna has also given the worm this
body to enjoy. So he is actually enjoying better in this body than me. I am suffering but he is
enjoying. So let him enjoy physically, he was in the most desperately hopeless, helpless
condition. Utter pain and disfiguration and socially his family rejected him, his friends rejected
him. The whole society rejected him. Can you try to identify yourself in that position? It was a
suffering situation. But in his mind, he was always grateful to Krishna. He was never the
slightest bit disturbed. He was simply thinking, “Krishna is so kind, that He is going through so
much trouble just to help me always remember Him and He is so kind and He is going through
all this trouble just to make me humble and free from prestige and the desire to enjoy this body
now.” What happened is, he found that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had come to a place called
Kurma Ksetra and he was living at one Brahman’s house. "Mahaprabhu, God, Krishna!!! See He
has come, I must go. I must have His darsana. I must serve His lotus feet. I must surrender my
head at His feet". So as difficult as it was he walked a long distance and when he arrived he
found that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had already left. He was already some distance away. He
missed the opportunity of his life. And Vasudeva, he never felt distressed by the worms eating
his body or all the puss and all the blood and everybody rejecting him. But when he learnt that
he missed the opportunity to serve the Lord, he became so completely disturbed in his mind
that he fell down unconscious. What is our position? How much are we so anxious for
devotional service? And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the parama atma in everyone’s heart
understood that this devotee despite the most terrible condition is grateful and never disturbed.
But he is terribly disturbed from the point of the verge of death because I am not there to give
him my mercy. So Mahaprabhu returned and when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu returned with
great love for his devotee, He lifted him up and embraced him. Who would want to embrace a
person like this? But the supreme Personality of Godhead, He felt great ecstasy in embracing
this man because the Lord does not see our physical, material qualifications or
disqualification’s. He takes pleasure only in the condition of our heart. And when He embraced
Vasudeva, a great miracle took place, this rotten decayed body became effulgent like Gold. All
the disease all the leprosy vanished. And his body was youthful full of health full of strength
full of energy and it was beautiful like a demigod. Now let me ask you if you had just been
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given a miracle like that would you be happy? Raise your hand if you would be happy. Be
honest, you are suffering from leprosy, dying dejected by everyone. And the Lord embraced
you and made you beautiful and young, handsome and healthy. Would you be happy about
that? Vasudeva was completely miserable. He was never miserable before, he was never
disturbed before. But after he was healed, he became completely disturbed in his mind. Why?
Because he was thinking, he said to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He said, "My dear Lord when I
was a useless leper rejected by everyone I had nothing to be proud of so it was very natural for
me to just very humbly and helplessly always be remembering You but I know your nature is
as soon as pride enters into the heart of Your devotee whatever service he offers gives You no
satisfaction it is only the humility in which it is offered that gives You pleasure and now I am
going to be famous everywhere because You have performed a miracle just for me. People are
going to think Oh you are a very advanced devotee. The Lord has performed such a miracle to
you, such great soul and you are handsome and young and beautiful. Naturally I have
something too proud of spiritually because You have performed this miracle. I have something
to be so proud of and if I become proud even one tinge nothing I do will satisfy You and
therefore I am terribly disturbed and miserable when I was a leper, I was very peaceful. Please
my Lord, instruct me how I can serve you in this position and never fall victim to false pride
and he asked this question yearning and longing for the answer. This is very important. In the
Bhagavad Gita as long as Arjuna thought I know something and was presenting his ideas,
Krishna did not say a word to him because He knew if I speak now Arjuna will not understand.
Krishna just remained silent sometime until Arjuna became completely frustrated ----Karpanya
doso pahat svabhava……….Krishna I am completely confused about my duty. I do not know
what is to be done and what is not to be done I do not know what is truth what is false. I don’t
know anything Krishna. I am desperate, I am begging You please instruct me. I surrender to
Your feet. Then Krishna knew because Arjuna was inquiring in the spirit, whatever he said
would go right to his heart and would be understood. Most people when they are in a
completely calamitous situation they become very helpless and hopeless. And then they turn to
God and say, ‘please save me!’ or they come to the sadhus and say, ‘please give me relief.’
When Vasudev was in the most opulent condition of life he became like this. Queen Kunti was
also like this. Let the troubles happen Krishna then I will always remember you. But now such
comforts, complacency, pride and you disappear. So Vasudev begged Mahaprabhu, please tell
me how I can always remain your humble servant under all conditions. And Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu replied: yare dekathari kaha….Krishna upadesh....."Always chant the holy
names, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama
Rama Hare Hare. Always seek shelter of the association of the devotees, and whomever you
meet, enlighten them with the words of Krishna. In this way you will never fall victim to
maya". And Vasudeva took these words as his life and soul. And then all of his anxiety, all of
his frustration, all of his disturbance was removed simply by hearing these words of the Lord
with a submissive and humble heart. So a devotee as we are explaining does not take very
seriously the conditions of this material world. He only takes one thing seriously, the
connection of my Krishna. How am I chanting His names? How am I associating with His
devotees? How am I pleasing Gurudeva? These are the real first priorities of life. Everything
else we do, the needful and we do it well, perform our duty, we take care of our occupation, but
we are doing it for Krishna, we are not attached to the fruits. We are attached to Krishna, we
are attached to the service. We are not attached to the result and whatever predicament we are
put in this world, its value is only as much as it helps us to remember Krishna and fall at His
lotus feet. In any situation that is preventing us from doing that, that situation, is terrible. So as
Vaisnavas we should not get so caught up in everything in this world.
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It is coming and it comes so fast
If you have ever talked to any old person, they will only talk of how they have become old. “I
used to do like that, but now I am just old”. Every time they move, they feel their limbs so stiff,
so painful and they think they are old. They constantly remember their body at old age. They
cannot eat properly, they cannot digest properly, they cannot walk properly and see properly
because they are simply grown old. But that old age; if it has not come upon you, yet it is just
now coming. Little Madhav, Priyavrata, and their friends now are running jumping playing on
drums, they do not think, I am growing old. When they see any old man they laugh, just see
how old, they cannot do anything. But that old person was laughing just before also, and
someday children will laugh, that is the nature of the world. It is coming and it comes so fast,
life goes by and it appears only as if seconds. So what to do with this existence that we are
somehow or the other trapped into? To utilize by always hearing about Krishna, by glorifying
Krishna and by remembering Krishna.
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Putting politics before Krsna
To the degree we can develop these relation with one another, to that degree we could be really
be a part of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's movement because Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and through
His representatives, the six goswamis and then later on of course BhaktiVedanta Swami, they
have given us such a perfect and complete philosophy that can transform the whole world.
They have given us the most powerful weapon in all of the whole creation; the Holy name of
Krishna and the world is in great need of this. In fact according to Shastra Lord Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu gave us the yugadharma. It is the ONLY medicine that can cure the diseased
condition of this world and by some strange inconceivable reason the few of us have been given
custody of the yugodharma to distribute to the rest of the world. And yet we are so busy
quarrelling amongst each other over petty little stupid things that we don't mind the world
going to hell. Its like I am going to make a grass analogy with your permission: If someone is
hit by an automobile and he is in critical condition & about to die, his body is all broken up into
so many pieces and his heart is not working right and his lungs are not working right and they
bring him to the hospital and it's an emergency. If he doesn't get an immediate operation very
well done, he will die. So the surgeons and the nurse come into the operating room and the
person is just depending on them. And then the doctors start arguing who is going to do what
part of the operation and the nurse starts arguing, "why aren't you nice to me? I am not going to
clean your utensils" And one doctor says, "We should use this medical instrument." and the
other doctor says this one. And in this way they are all fighting. So what happens to the person?
He dies. Hari Bol ! Why are you saying, Hari Bol? We are supposed to say Hari Bol, when the
doctors finally decide to work together and save the man. Hari Bol, that's very good. So that is
the condition, the world is like that man who has been just hit by the car of Kali Yuga and
everything is just dismantled. It's an emergency crisis condition and by Krishna's arrangement
we have the medicine and we have the knowledge to perform the surgery. But we are so busy
finding faults with each other. So busy seeing faults in one another. We are so busy with our
idea of how many things should be done, but everybody has their own idea of how things
should be done. But if we don't work together, we cannot perform this surgery. And while we
are involved in our own petty disagreements, the whole world is suffering and gliding deeper
and deeper into the depths of ignorance. So if we can understand the sincerity of what the Guru
Parampara has given us, we will not have time for such disagreements."
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Putting Politics before Krsna (Part 2)
If someone goes to a hospital and sees that the doctors and nurses are not even on speaking
terms with one another, will they want to lay their lives down in their hands? Similarly people
are frustrated. If they come and see Krishna Consciousness works with harmony and peace,
there is love and co-operation amongst devotees; people will think, yes, I trust them, this is
what I want, I will hear what they say. But if they see that we have our own petty little conflicts,
then they will think, what is the difference? What is the difference between this and everything
I am reading about in the newspapers? So we have a great responsibility to co-operate with one
another and the only way we could co-operate in this age of Kali, is to take Lord Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu's golden rule to heart- trnad api sunicena.. taror api sahisnuna.. amanina
manadena .. kirtaniyah sada harih.. To be more humble than a blade of grass; to be more
tolerant than a tree; to offer all respect to others and to expect none in return and in this way
chant the name of the Lord always. If we strive to live by this, the most important of all the
instructions, we can live together peacefully. In that peaceful co-existence we can do great great
things for this world.
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Some Thoughts
As long as we compromise on the standards, we remain neophyte birth after birth.
If we remain faithful to the ideals we strive for, all the tests will only make us stronger.
Faith is a symptom of love of God, and surrender is the manifestation of that love.
Surrender sounds horrible to one who wants to be a controller. but it is the sweetest and most
pleasing of all words for a devotee who has a humble heart. For some it is bitter medicine, for
devotees it is a sweet nectar.
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Nectar
One who observes the spiritual nature with the spirit of detachment sees everything as it is. The
ways of this material world are very obvious. The lessons to be learnt are quite clear. But if we
look upon this world with attachment, then we cannot see anything in truth. We see everything
only according to our relative spirit of enjoyment and therefore, the truth that Krsna is trying to
reveal to every element of existence, is clouded. We cannot perceive anything as it is. But a
person who is detached from the material enjoyment, wherever he goes, whatever he sees,
whatever he hears, whatever he experiences, is simply echoing the words of his spiritual master
and the words of the scriptures. Therefore it is said that an intelligent man sees through his
ears, does not see through his eyes. He hears from the Shastras, he hears from the Guru and
Sadhus, exactly what is the real nature of this material existence and because he is detached
from the spirit of enjoyment, he can see the truth. He can see the message of God everywhere.
Krsna consciousness is not for philosophical debate but for trasnforming the heart of people.
First we think we are das das anu das, then das anu das, then we are das, then we are prabhu
then we want to compete with mahaprabhu.
When you take position, you have to accept responsibilities. Compassion is a quality, which
impells one to perform sacrifices.
Real surrender; not wealth, not intelligence, but giving up our false ego.
Our destiny is to rot in the material world, but krsna comes to change our destiny, therefore we
have to surrender our free will.
We get purified when we take anxiety for krsna.
HH Radhanath Swami
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Devotee:
116. We are constantly attending program, listening lectures but practically 95% of us are still in
the platform where we were before. When we are here we feel very nice lecture, very nice
philosophy we must follow and as soon as we go then again going back to the same world.
Constantly we are listening lecture from 10 years practically same attachment is still there with
the family. We might give little bit more donations to the temple. But the consciousness is still
not changed?
Hearing provides the format by which we can attain perfection but putting that same perfection
into action in life is an ingredient that brings realisation. Until we apply what we hear to our life
as a sacrifice, we won’t get the realisation. We always remain with the same theoretical
understanding. If we are hearing not only for 10 years but for 10 life times if we never put into
action that is not the realisation, that will not be
the actual development of love in spiritual qualities.
Spiritual subject matter is not simply the form of entertainment to hear, spiritual subject matter
are meant for the purpose of changing our heart, changing the quality of our life, of our values
of our conventions. When a sincere soul hears with an open heart he will be prompted to act
according to that and then you will get the higher taste. Some people say after hearing for so
many years but still I don’t get the higher taste. Its just like you are having a bottle of honey and
you are reading the label everyday and you are wondering why I am not tasting the honey, but
you have to open the bottle and try it. Similarly you are hearing the instructions if you want to
taste the sweetness of the spiritual life you have to act; you have to take it. It is through the
process of sacrifice.
Arjuna heard Bhagavad-Gita but his glory was not that he just sat on the chariot and heard, his
glory was what he heard he put that into practice. Krishna told him to fight he didn’t say well I
heard the Scriptures, I am very happy that I had a nice pravachan, now there is no need to fight,
its not the way that it works. Arjuna would not have attained any realisation. The realisations of
Krishna speaking came into Arjuna’s heart when he practically applied them in his life. And to
the extent you apply these
instructions into your life, to that extent you will get the realisation
ye yatha mam prapadyante

tams tathaiva bhajamy aham
mama vartmanuvartante
manusyah partha sarvasah
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Krishna says, as you are surrender I reward you accordingly. So of course coming to the
lectures and hearing is a process of surrender, it is important, it is essential; you will not be able
to surrender unless you do that. It is the basic principle hearing and chanting the glories of the
Lord in the association of the devotees which gives you the direction and the strength but then
you have to take that direction and take that strength put it into your life and you will have
divine realisations to go forward.
Nectar
Krsna's only real pastime is to enjoy, we are seeking this same enjoyment because we are part
and parcel of Krsna.... In this material world we constantly battle for this enjoyment... [but] If
you want to be happy in this world the only real way is to stop trying.
Spiritual enjoyment begins when we are in the mood of being enjoyed [by Krsna] ...our
realisations develop depending on how much we want to be enjoyed.
The worst thing we can do for our spiritual lives is to think 'I am advanced'. The pure devotees
feel that they are the most fallen. We fall into this illusion [of false-ego] when we believe we are
the do-er.... If we try to artificially jump above our position it will cause impediments on our
path.
The most important thing is to cultivate an unconditional sevice attitude. We should be willing
to do anything. Menial service or preaching. No one is above simple cleaning service. In
proportion to this attitude we will develop a higher taste [for Bhakti].
When hearing Krsna's flute the Gopis left everything to meet Him - But NOT to enjoy, but to be
enjoyed by Him....
Krsna's supreme happiness is to be conquered by His devotee... This is possible because our
love is a part of Srimati Radharani's love... Krsna knows past, present and future but he does
not know the full nature of Srimati Radharani's love.
Within the personality of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Srimati Radharani is more prominent than
Krsna. Lord Caitanya's Siksashtakam prayers are actually the prayers of Srimati Radharani, in
which She reveals the path of Bhakti through taking shelter of the Holy Name.
If we just serve the Guru and the Vaishnava's nicely then Srimati Radharani will notice us and
ask Krsna to bless us with pure devotional service on our behalf.
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Nectar on Damodarastakam
The month of Kartik is to be understood as that particular month of the year that is as specially
blessed by Srimati Radharani, the pleasure potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Srimati Radharani is the ultimate reservoir of all love and devotion to Lord Sri Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada has said that if one is favoured by Sri Radharani, She will personally
approach Krishna, please accept this devotee, he/she is better than Me.
Hearing these words from His most beloved Krishna cannot refuse to accept us. How to please
Sri Radharani is to sincerely with a greatful heart accept the role of the servant of the servant of
the servant of Her servants and chant the holy names of the Lord.
This month of Kartik is especially blessed because any devotional activates performed in this
month are given very special attention to Sri Radharani and therefore She blesses such devotees
with Her causeless mercy.
Therefore of all months the Kartik masya is most dear and sacred to all Vaisnavas.
On the day of Deepawali Krishna performed His lila of Damodara, being bound by the ropes of
mother Yasoda.
Our beloved Guru Maharaj Srila A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, he chose to make his
residence in Vrindavana at temple of Sri Sri Radha-Damodara.
And he taught us that one of the most pleasing and effective means of progressing in Krishna
consciousness is to everyday to sing the Damodarastakam found in the padma purana,
everyday in the month of Kartik. It is celebrating Sri Bala Gopal who's conquered by the love of
His devotees.
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Glories of chanting of Holy Names
And Haridas Thakur was such a person; he did not concern himself with his own pleasure or
pains, even his own life or death. He was only concerned with helping others learn to love
God. And Krishna explains in Gita that one who preaches this message is most dear to me. No
one will ever be more dear to me than him, but of course great opposition will come when we
try to do good for others. At one time Haridas was living in a in a small hermitage, in a little
hut, Bhajan kutir, in the forest and this was near a place called Benapol. And people were so
attracted to him because he was utterly humble and simple yet he was so pure that people were
just overwhelmed by the charm of his mercy and they all took to the chanting of Krishna's holy
names, but there was a wealthy powerful land own, his name was Ramchandra Khan, and he
became envious at the success of Haridas Thakur and he decided that his reputation must be
destroyed because the nature of material consciousness is we cannot tolerate when someone is
getting more recognition than ourselves. And the more one is recognized, the more one needs
to be recognized to be satisfied.
If someone is insignificant and really nobody cares about them, if somebody gives them the
slightest bit of recognition they are very happy, it is human nature. If they don't get that slight
bit, they are very distressed, so all they need is tiny bit, but if someone is praised and glorified
by so many, he needs that much and more to be satisfied. If a million people are glorifying you,
one day a nine lac ninety nine thousand glorify you, you are miserable. Because you are going
low and if you see somebody else is being glorified by a million and one people you become
envious. It is material nature. The more you have, the more you need, and the more you have
you are potentially envious of someone who has more and yet our whole life is struggling to get
more and more and more so that we can become more envious and we need more just for
satisfying our ego's to survive.
So Ramchandra Khan was powerful, he was wealthy, he was famous. But Haridas was more.
So he sent the most beautiful of all prostitutes to break chastity of Haridas Thakur. And he was
willing to send soldiers to hide in the bushes to apprehend him and arrest him as being a
pretender as he was caught in the act. But the prostitute said, "Let me go alone first and then I'll
tell you when to bring the soldiers". So she stood before Haridas just as the sun was setting and
he was sitting alone chanting the holy names, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare
Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. And she looked at him and she began to
expose various beautiful parts of her body in so many gestures that would conquer even the
gods in heaven. And she said, "Haridas, you are so young and handsome and I am so young
and beautiful. It is the arrangement of providence that we enjoy together". And he said, " I will
fulfill all your desires but first I must complete my prescribed chanting of the holy names. So
you just wait until I complete my vow". So he began to chant, "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare". Of course Haridas
Thakur's vow was to chant at least three lakh names of God a day that is equivalent to 190
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rounds, before he would take a morsel of food or water. But really his vow to always chant the
holy names. Krishna says sattatam kritayantomam....So little did this prostitute know that
Haridas's vow was twenty-four hours a day practically.
So the night passed and morning came. She said, "You are a sadhu, you made a promise to
fulfill my desires you're still chanting". He said, "I didn't complete my vow today. Come back
tomorrow I will fulfill your desires". The same thing happened the next day. But every day she
would come and she would bow down before Haridas Thakur and bow down to Tulsi Devi and
on the third day just as the night was coming to an end Haridas was still chanting, "Hare
Hare".
And she fell at his feet and she confessed her real motive for coming and she explained, "But by
sitting and hearing the chanting all night, I too began chanting and now I am purified from all
my lusty desires. Now I want to be your disciple and surrender to you. Please give me
initiation". And Haridas said, "I knew all along what your motive was. Ramchandra Khan is an
envious person. He wanted to destroy me and I was going to leave that very day. But I
decided to spend three extra days just to deliver you and give you love of Krishna. So now if
you like you give away all of those riches that you have earned by immoral means and you can
come to my little Bhajan-kutir. I will go and you constantly chant the holy names of Krishna.
And do not worry; Krishna will supply everything you need". So she became a great saint and
every one in the whole town, when they saw that this prostitute became a pure sadhu, a
Paramhamsa just by three days of association with Haridas then his reputation expanded a
million of times greater. There are so many stories of Thakur Haridas.
Srila Haridas Thakur Ki Jai.
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True unity of all religions
When Haridas Thakur was living in Phulia, he was chanting the holy names. He would rise
early in the morning go to the Ganges and he would take his bath. And after bathing,
throughout the whole day, he would just roam from towns and villages with his arms raised
just inducing every one to chant the names of Krishna, "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna
Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare". And the innocent and
simple people-they loved him, they surrendered their lives to him. But the envious people, they
wanted to destroy him. And then there were some of the leaders of the Muslim faith.
This was five hundred years ago when India was under Islamic rule and some of them were
also thinking that every one is becoming intoxicated with love of God due to Haridas and
Haridas was born in Muslim family, he is ruining our Religion. So they went to the Kazi and
they complained to him and the Kazi went to the governor and said that this Haridas must be
stopped. He must be punished. So there was a warrant issued for his arrest. When he was
brought before the governor, the Kazi who hated Haridas terribly, he began to make so many
allegations against him and they said, "You are born in a very high position, why are you
degrading yourself to these Hindu 'rituals'.
You are spoiling everything, if you do not cease to engage in this manner, you will have to be
punished severely". And I would like to read to you, Haridas Thakur's reply to this great threat
to his life because what Haridas Thakur is speaking, if the world hears there will no longer be a
conflict amongst any of the religions of this world. They will understand true unity of all
religions and all conflict will be something of the past. Please hear the words of Haridas. Upon
hearing the Governor speak he began to laugh, "Wonderful is the illusory power of Sri Vishnu,
listen dear Sir, God is one for all, He is the eternal object of worship without a second for all,
Hindus or Muslims, for young and old, Hindu and non-Hindu, for man and woman.
He and He alone is the Supreme Godhead, those ignorant Hindus and Muslims who have no
knowledge about the true nature of Godhead are solely responsible for these unpleasant
rivalries in religion. They create separate Gods, lay the foundation for unnecessary foolish
quarrels which lead to unfortunate development of bitterness amongst the members of both
the sections. If you can forget all these petty narrow fanatic feelings for a while and try to
understand with an impartial mind, the real truth, by holding both, the Puranas of the Hindus
and the Koran of the Muslims, the sound authorities in judging such matters, the name and
glories of the same Lord are sung by all people in every part of the world according to the
declaration of their respective scriptures.
The same Godhead accepts the inner motives underlying the acts of all persons. Any act of
contempt against any of His creatures in verily a contempt shown against Himself. Hence it is
not advisable to show any hatred toward any of the creations of the almighty God. " And then
Haridas Thakur began to explain (I am summarizing). Hence I am acting in the way that the
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Lord has pleased to guide my mind. The progress of the soul in the service of the Lord entirely
depends upon the causeless mercy of the Lord himself. We advance only to the extent to which
he permits us to proceed.
Haridas is explaining that there is one God for all great religions. And according to the sweet
will of the Lord, the Lord inspires one to worship and have faith in a particular religion and a
particular path and Haridas explained that I am uncontrollably attached to the worship of Shri
Krishna and there is no power on earth that can induce me to stop chanting His holy names,
"Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama
Hare Hare. " The governor upon hearing him, his heart was moved, he understood that this is a
true saint speaking the highest truth. But the Kazi said, "He must be killed". The Governor told
Haridas, "If you do not stop publicly broadcasting the glories of this maha-mantra, we will have
to beat you in twenty-two market places torturously, till you die. " And Haridas was very
amused upon hearing this.
Because he knew that his soul cannot be killed and he told the Governor that my life is an
offering to Lord Krishna and you can do whatever you like to me. You can cut my body in
millions of pieces but you cannot stop me from glorifying His holy name,
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Devotee:
129. A person may be tolerant in his dealing, but can a nation a community a sect be tolerant?
Suppose a neighbouring nation attacks us in that case?
We can be tolerant but in a different way. Krishna taught Arjuna to be tolerant but he also
taught him to fight. That means we have to be tolerant of our own vices, we must be tolerant of
our own ego and in that state of consciousness fight to protect innocent citizens of the nation
you want to protect. That is the duty of a warrior sacred duty of the warrior is not attack
innocent people of another country. It is to protect citizens of your own country and it is your
duty to protect. In fact if a burglar comes in to kill your wife and children, it’s your duty to
protect them even if it means to become angry, violent yes? It is your duty to protect. But in the
process we should tolerate doing it egoistically. We should tolerate our own vices and actually
protect for the right cause. Is that answer your question? Being tolerant does not mean being
weak, tolerance gives strength.
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PERFECT QUESTION AND ANSWERS - Unity is Strength
HG ShyamSundar Prabhu:
130. It was one of the miraculous lecture I ever heard from you, that was wonderful. I have one
question, we are all individual souls and our relation with Krishna is individual and unique to
this particular soul. Then how does a united society of devotee’s enables one to develop that
individual relationship with Krishna?
Thank you. Actually you know better than me. But as a matter of etiquette you are asking. Yes
ultimately at the time of death we have to turn to God ourselves. But it is like if you are a pilot
ultimately you have to fly your own plane, but you need help in learning how to fly. So you go
to school, yes? You learn and then actually you can do it your self.
Similarly Spiritually
om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakayan
Since time memorial we are in darkness. Therefore we need association, association that will
protect us from the forces of temptation because we are what we associate with. In the self-
realised state we are Atmaram, we are finding the inner satisfaction of love of God within our
heart. But until we attain that state we are very much influenced by our environment. So if we
create an environment around us that encourages and inspires us to do the right thing, and the
environment around us that gives us strength to overcome our weaknesses, then we can easily
cross all obstacles. Because the society has so much bombardment of various temptations,
various ways to forget our true identity forget our service attitude, Yes? Therefore when we
have a society of people around us whether be a family, whether be a temple or whether just be
among friends, when we have a society around us that is helping us to remain in the straight
path of dharma, then it becomes easy.
Actually spiritual life is enjoyable, it’s fun! It’s wonderful! its not just tapasya. Spiritual life is
the most excitement most dynamic enjoyable blissful lifestyle to live. You know that!
Shyamsundar Prabhu went to London and made George Harison and the Beatles Harekrishna
devotees, they saw they had millions of dollars and fame and everything but they were
thinking I want what this man has - he is happy. And you are asking me this question. When
spiritual life is practiced with like-minded people it is wonderful.
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2005 New Year Message
Happiness does not come from accumulation of power and wealth, happiness can only come
when the soul is united with the God, and acts with love toward other living beings, there is no
other true happiness. Srila Prabhupada, Jaladuta arrived in New York City, which is the capital
of so much materialism, with all respect to American. Illicit sex, intoxication, gambling, meat
eating are just the normal way of the life, even for practically children. Yes, and its getting
worse and worse. He came to such a civilization alone. What did he have? He had faith in order
of his Guru who told him to spread the messaged of Lord Caitanya throughout the world in
English language. He only had 40 Rupees and he did not know single person and he was 70
years old, and just a few days before he had three heart attacks. He had faith in Guru and
complete faith in power of Krishna's name to transform peoples' hearts and he had a box of
books which explained real problems of life and how to solve them individually, socially and
collectively and it is by the gift of his compassion that we have this opportunity to discuss these
subjects on this occasion of new year's eve.
It is traditional that our new year's eve people make resolutions. Prabhupada once explained
resolution, revolution, dissolution and no solution. That's the nature of most new year's
resolutions. But what should we really pray for on this special day, the juncture between 2004
and 2005. Sometimes Im behind in the times. I am not going to go in details of proofs and
evidences of this statement. Krishna explains in Gita … My devotees are always chanting my
holy names and endeavoring in great determination. If we want to make spiritual progress
Tirthavrita, vows of determination are absolutely essential.
A few days ago was Christmas so we were quoting Lord Jesus few times, he said either you be
hot or cold but if you are lukewarm I will spit you out. Hare Krishna. Very honest statement.
We must have determination because Maya Devi is trying to trap at every step. Material energy
is just trying to just take away the moments of our precious human life, moment after moment.
Without vows of determination we don't really go anywhere. Today it is so fanciful that the
people who preach so called religion they accumulate millions of followers because they tell
what they want to hear, you don't have to change your lives, you don't have to struggle or
strive you just chant the mantra or do some breath control or give me some money, and you
will be liberated just do this one little thing. Just do this meditation and you will be alright you
don't have to change your life style. But where in any scripture in the world it is found whether
one a Bhuddist, or a jain or a Zhorashtrian or a Hare Krishna, Sanatana Dharma Christian and
Muslim its rejected in every scripture by every saint. Jesus said, the narrow path is the path to
the kingdom of God, the narrow path is whether strict, whether it takes determination and its
very difficult, the wide path leads to suffering and destruction.
And Krishna tell in Gita there is no question of yoga without controlling mind and senses. Tani
Sarven … Krishna says you must fix your consciousness upon me and restrain the senses form
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doing the things that I m not favorable to advancement of spirituality. Only in Kaliyuga could
people such propaganda that I will be liberated. I can just go on doing everything if I just do
little meditation or little breath control or little mantra or give some donation to someone and
get some blessing. There must determination Vrita Vrata. Material existence is like a river
flowing downstream, its leading to the ocean of birth and death and bondage. We have to swim
upstream and that takes determination, that takes effort. Are we sincere that is the question?
That is the question. Are we actually sincere, do we really want something substantial. Or we
just going to flow down the stream doing some meditation and think that we might be little
peaceful but we are still flowing downstream. So new year is a time resolution
which is the time to introspectively question what do I really want in life? And to make
resolutions of determination to help us to achieve our goal. Its very important. When devotees
take initiation they take vows because actually to take things to take seriously vows are very
very powerful that help us. So what type of determined resolution should we take on this day?
We can inspect in which way we cheating or which ways are we dishonest to humanity and to
God and to Vaishnavas? In which ways am I lazy from doing the right thing, in which ways I
am habituated in doing the wrong things? In which ways am I allowing the association of the
material energy to steal my consciousness away from me? And to take seriously and make, may
be not necessarily vows but resolutions in our lives to be determined, to give up our bad habits,
to give, to try, to really make effort to overcome our weaknesses, to increase our enthusiasm to
do the right things. To be honest, to be truthful, to be compassionate and kind to others, to offer
all respect, to be humble. Actually if we just make one resolution, we will attain life's perfection.
Trinada Api Sunichena… just try to be humble like blade of grass, tolerant like the tree, to offer
all respect to others and to really sincerely make efforts from our hearts to take shelter of the
holy names. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
There are three essential principles on the path of Bhakti, to worship the Lord in his Aavtar [as
Lord Caitanya]in the age of Kali by chanting his Holy names, by sincerely from our hearts
lovingly serving the Vaishnavas, and by being compassionate, well wisher of all living beings.
And what is separating us from following these principles? That we should try to resolve to
overcome even little by little let us try to move in the right direction and in the assembly of the
devotees to pray at the lotus feet of Radhagopinath, let me always remember you, help me to
follow that path in which I can always remember you and never forget you. Help me to
overcome my weaknesses and my laziness so that I can be the real servant of the Vaishnavas
and a compassionate instrument within this world. That we increase the sincerity in which, and
hear your glories, read Srila Prabhupada's book and chant the names of the Lord. If we pray for
these things, Krishna will hear our prayer, if we are sincere. Ananyas Cintayanta … Krishna
will give us all help. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, actually Lochandas Thakur said about
Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda : Parma Karuna Prama … ananda kanda. That these two
brothers have come to teach the Yuga Dharma which is revealed in the Holy scriptures. And the
process they give is simply joyful, chanting, dancing, tasting Prasad, it's a wonderful process.
But to follow it properly there must be determination, accept what is favorable and reject what
is unfavorable for devotional service. And if we just make that sincere effort. Man Mana Bhav
Mad Bhakto ….Just try to think of me always, become my devotee, offer homage unto me,
worship me, Krishna promises – "You will come to me without fail." So on this wonderful
occasion where we have come together let us consider these resolutions because we don't know
what wave of material existence may come upon us at any moment, we shouldn't waste time,
it's a tragedy. If the waves of material existence crash upon us and we lose our life without
loving God, we lost everything and don't want anyone to have to suffer that, that is a devotee.
So let us on this day sincerely pray with sincere hearts for all those who were killed by this
great catastrophe and let us pray with very sincere hearts for the well being, physical, emotional
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and spiritual well beings for all those who are suffering through catastrophe, and let us pray for
all living beings on earth whose consciousness has been flooded by the tidal wave of illusion
and are wasting their lives and let us pray sincerely that we can actually help them as the
servant of servant of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna in spreading the glories of the holy
name.
Some Inspiration - S.B. 10.25.11-13
The pain of hunger usually enhances our pleasure of eating-that is to say that when we are
hungry we are likely to enjoy the food more than if we were not hungry. Similarly, when Indra
struck thunder and rains, the residents of Vrndavan were in great distress, but when the sweet
Lord acted, and lifted the hill for their protection, this only heightened their pleasure.
Just as absence makes the heart grow fonder, when in separation from the Lord, our needing for
Him becomes intensified. As we suffer in this material world, Krishna is simply helping us to
appreciate him and the pleasures of our life, through deep distress, just as we appreciate the
pleasure of eating even more when we have been starved for so long.
The material world considers the negation of pain to be happiness. For example, the diseased
hand causes pain to the individual, but once the infection has been removed, the hand doesn't
feel anything. This is not happiness, but we think that it is, when in actuality it is simply relief
from our suffering.
However, in the spiritual world, everything has a positive spiritual value. Everything the Lord
puts the devotee through is to enhance the loving relationship between the Lord and his
devotee. Just like the hunger enhances our pleasure of eating. If we weren't hungry, we
probably wouldn't even eat, in the same way, this suffering enables us to turn to the Lord.
Nothing in the spiritual world is stagnant, everything is dynamic and full of vitality, everything
is arranged to simply increase our remembrance of the Lord.
So how does Krishna increase the love of His devotees? Well, the Lord and his representative
put us in situations where we feel insecure by every single material arrangement, we don't
really know what is coming or going or what is in-between, the heart has no security and we
don't know what, when why or how the next step will bring. In-turn, we become bewildered
and this becomes the cause of our suffering, our pain and distress. However at such a time, we
must not become complacent. As we are striving to become closer to Krishna, this complacency
is the enemy of spiritual life. Therefore the Lord will put us in situations where we are starving
for the release from these pains of material existence. If we turn to Krishna now, it will be most
sweet and most purifying. To the degree that Prahlada Maharaj suffered to that degree he was
able to appreciate the presence of the Lord when He appeared.
Even in Vrndavan, at least once a day some demon or another was causing disturbance...8 mile
long demons, witched trying to poison the Lord...however it was only in this this way that the
Lord increased the residents remembrance of Him. However, in Goloka Vrndavabn, there are
no demons, no tragedies and only through separation does Krishna increase the devotees love
for Him
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Krishna will always keep devotees hankering for him in the most inconceivable situations
PERFECT QUESTION AND ANSWERS - Unity is Strength
Student:
131. You said we should associate with good people, that is very critical in protecting us from
temptations. My question is how we should associate with bad people because in day to day life
we are surrounded by bad people also?
By being a good example. If people, offcourse if it is possible if people open their minds and
hearts for us to speak to them about higher virtues and higher truths in life, then that is our
service to them to offer them their higher ideal, a higher philosophy which is based on truth. A
preacher is not a person who is egoistically thinking I know more than you, A real preacher is
one who is humbly serving all living beings by sharing a message that will enlighten them and
bring them joy in life, relive them of suffering. So as for as possible if we learn the philosophy of
the truth nicely ourselves then we can present in a way that can help to convince others as a
service.
If people are not willing to hear then just by our example, if they see that “we are dynamic and
successful in whatever we do as for as possible and at the same time we do it without greed and
without anger but doing it as an expression of love; we are actually good, we are spiritual” that
will have tremendous impact on people. So we could try to speak to them we could try to give
them books we should try to give them prasad, but all of these things will have much powerful
effect when they see that we live by our ideals, because it is a world where people have very
difficult time trusting one another, because we are exposed to so much hypocrisy. People say
one thing and do another. It is an age whether Kali means quarrel and hypocrisy, due to so
much hypocrisy it is very much difficult for people to actually put their faith on each other.
Because he may be saying this to me, she may be saying like this but what is their hidden
agenda, what do they really want? What is the bottom line? But when we act in a spirit of
selfless service which comes by cleaning our own hearts from chanting the names of God and
living a service oriented life and people will see. They will feel the radiation of your spiritual
energy and they will be able to trust you. They say that this person actually has a simple and
innocent heart and I can trust him or her. And when people trust you then you can do so much
good in their life by your example, by your words.
So we should not hate people that are bad we should feel compassion for them and we should
live in such a way that we can somehow reach there hearts and help them. And nothing else we
can pray for them. You may not be able to change the world but you can change yourself that
you have the power to do. And when you access that spiritual potency you could do your part,
we could all do our part making the world a better place.
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In building the bridge across the Indian Ocean from Rameswaram to Srilanka, Hanuman was
lifting mountain peaks and putting them in the water. And there was a little spider kicking
grains of sand with its little legs, Hanuman told the spider move aside and Ram said to
Hanuman No you move aside, that spider is doing as much as you. In helping me in my
mission get ridding Ravana of lust, anger, pride and ego from this world he is doing as much as
he can. That spider’s capacity is to kick one grain of sand at a time, your capacity is to rip of
mountain peaks and put them. But each of you are doing what you can do, therefore you both
are equally perfect in my eyes. So let us be happy just doing our part whether it is big or small
and try our best to clean our own hearts to love God and to do actual good in the world.
Student: Unity is Strength (Part 2)
132. You spoke about the importance of unity in our life and you spoke about how maya
empowers in different ways like lust, greed, envy, and anger to bring us down. But we see that
there is a strong unity among these qualities, which together bring us down. But you said unity
always makes us good, but these qualities are also very much united together to bring us down,
so how is it possible to have these forces united together?
It is quite obvious; it is a fact that to be good in this world, to be God conscious in this world
means to fight a war against illusion Maya. As soon as we want to do something good, as soon
as we want to be spiritual we are in the battlefield of kurukshetra. That’s why Gita was spoken
on the battle field, because to be a devotee of the Lord in this world means you have to fight a
battle and the fact is the forces of illusion, the forces of lust, envy, anger, pride, greed and
illusion, these enemies are so united, not only united they have huge forces Yes? That’s what we
have to fight against. That is why we need the power of our own unity and when that unity is
born of the strength of the power of God, then Yes we can overcome all the obstacles. The more
we understand the power of illusion Maya how united she has her armies within this world, the
more we realise
Ayi nanda tanuja kinkaram
Daivi hesu gunamayi mama maya duratyaya
That we have to truly humble ourselves, we have truly pray to the Lord let me a particle of dust
in your lotus feet, then nothing can overcome me. We have to be so humble and so united in
order to truly take shelter of higher power because only that power can save us from the
massive onslaught of the united forces of sin, illusion and pride, Yes? We have to surrender; we
have to take shelter with humility. Then all the power of God is there to protect us. But in order
to do that we need association, we need to be unified together.
man-mana bhava mad-bhakto

mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo 'si me
It is Krishna’s promise, he declares in Bhagavad-Gita: 'Always think of me, become my devotee,

worship me offer your homage on to me, in this way you will come to me' - you will win the
war against Maya. Of this there is no doubt, this is my promise.
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It is not a matter of our intellectual capacity, it is not a matter of how much money and
influence we have Maya will conquer us. But if we take shelter of the Lord we can easily
overcome all the onslaughts of Maya. That is the Lord’s promise and that has been witnessed
and demonstrated throughout the ages, whether we are a simple housewife, whether we are a
farmer or whether we are a king, that makes no difference. How we take shelter of Lord with
humility in our heart and how sincerely we can chant his holyname.
Carry on this Mission
The spiritual master is the incarnation of Krishna’s mercy within this world. saksad dharitvena
samasta sastrair... Because he is dear to Krishna, he is as good as Krishna, because we receive
Krishna through him. Srila Prabhupada pleaded and begged his followers that "When I leave
this world, carry on this mission." Srila Prabhupada begged us with tears in his eyes, "Do not
leave this Krishna consciousness movement. Maya is very strong and she has her soldiers
everywhere." And yesterday, today and tomorrow, she would be attacking us on all sides
trying to take us away from Srila Prabhupada’s service. Srila Prabhupada prayed to us,
"Whatever happens, do not leave this Krishna consciousness movement. Do not leave this
preaching mission. You are the hope for the salvation of the world."
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur gave Srila Prabhupada the instructions to take the
teachings of Mahaprabhu and the holy name to every town and village in the world. Srila
Prabhupada until his last breath, and beyond, he continued preaching by example by his
example and by his words.
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The Goal of Life
We read about great Kings. Kings like Rishabdev, Prithu Maharaj, Yudhistir Maharaj, Amrish
Maharaj. They had such fabulous wealth, but they were always gentle to the sadhus, they were
always humble and always in a mood of serving the Lord with whatever they had. And we
read about Sudhama, who was so poor that most opulent offering that he could give Krishna
was some broken chipped rice, but because they had spirit of devotion, they were perfect. And
the Mahabharat explains, Duryodhana was the King of Hastinapur and Vidhura, he was
classified often as a sudra, he didn't have much, and Duryodhana invited Lord Sri Krishna to
have lunch at his house, to have prasad, but Krishna said no, "I will not go to this house."
Although he had prepared and arranged so many delicacies and palatable foods with the finest
ingredients and the best possible cooks preparing them. At Vidura's house all he had to offer
was some fruits, some bananas or something but Krishna was happy to go Vidhura's house.
Why ? because he was humble, he respected the vaishnavas, he was the servant of the servant
of the servant of the Lord's servants. But at the same time Krishna, He also took prasad in the
Kingdom of Mithila in the house of Bahutashva who was a great royal King with all riches
because he had bhakti, he had respect for the Lord's devotees and he was a humble servant. So
we should know that whatever situation we are in is due to our previous Karma, good or bad is
not important, bhaktya mam abhijanati...... Krishna will accept us and reveal Himself to us if we
have the simple, sincere spirit of devotion, if we feel ourselves to be the grateful and humble
servant of His servants then Krishna will accept our offerings through the blessings of His
devotee. That should be the goal of our life, the purpose of our life because in that spirit we can
in the proper consciousness chant Krishna's name.
HH Radhanath Maharaja
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Lord Kapiladev's instructions
This is what Lord Kapiladev is explaining. He is describing the qualities, If you're not
compassionate to others, if you're not charitable to others, if you do not perform your duties
honestly, if you're not really really striving to obey the orders of your spiritual master, to serve
the Vaisnavas, to be kind to all living beings, if you're not really trying to understand the
content of the scriptures, then you're are not actually following the process. And Krishna will
not manifest Himself as His holy name and purify our hearts.
The whole purpose of life is to purify our hearts.
- By always remembering Krishna, Krishna is pleased and He purifies the contamination of our
hearts. In whatever we do in our lives, we have to use our God-given intelligence, directed by
guru, sadhu, and sastra we have to analyse, what I speak, what I do, what I think, is it
perpetuating my material conditioning or is it purifying me? Is this pleasing Krishna, The only
criteria of success or failure for a devotee is whether it pleases Krishna or not.
- Lord Caitanya's instruction to Vasudev, the leper, when he asked how to be free of pride:
Chant My holy names, be a kind friend to others and give them Krishna consciousness. If you
follow this principle, pride will never enter into your heart.
- If our purpose is to please, to serve, if our purpose is striving to become selfless in our service,
the joy of Bhakti is experienced to the degree we are selfless in our efforts. To the degree we
have false ego and selfish motivations in what we do that activity cannot bring fulfillment to the
heart. Because fulfillment comes from the reciprocation of Krishna being pleased within. That is
fulfillment.
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Devotees are like a Honeybee
You should follow the example of those people who really are inspiring you to Krishna
consciousness. You should not follow everyone. You should follow those who really are living
according to very devotional principles and who are inspiring our heart. Those persons you
should follow. Others you should pay all respect and you should look for the good within
everyone. Any fly could find a sore on a person’s body, Right? Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
explains that a honeybee is always looking for honey, no matter what the flower’s condition is,
just the honey be there, even if it is trampled on, even if it is withered. Does it care? It goes right
for the honey. And a fly, even if a person has a beautiful wonderful healthy body if there’s one
sore where blood is coming, infection, it’ll go right there and ignore the rest. Similarly if there is
a beautiful flower garden with all blossoming flowers, wonderful fragrances everywhere, birds
singing; but when a fly comes into the garden what does he do? If there is even half square inch
of stool on the ground, he’ll go there completely neglect all the acres and acres of beautiful
flowers, birds singing and touch that stool. And a honey-bee, even if he is in a terrible garbage
dump, if there is one flower with nectar in it, he’ll go right there. A devotee is like a honeybee.
An unfortunate person is like the fly. Any rascal can find faults, but it takes a sincere and noble
person to see virtues. A person who finds fault in others, that person’s mind as you can
understand, that person is a fly; but a person who could see the good even if there maybe so
many faults, a person who could see the good that’s there, that person is like a honeybee, he
will attract the mind of Krishna.
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Nectar from Lecture
Whatever profession we may be in the success is not how much fame & wealth we earn as all
this will come & go. They can’t touch the heart & soul. The only experience that touches the
heart is love of God & that is the essential purpose of life. The expressions of that love is to act
in such a way to please God.
Bhaktivinod Thakur had 10 sons of which one is Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. He
worked for the British government as a magistrate. He was the emblem of ‘moral spiritual
integrity’. He lived what he talked. His decisions as a magistrate were so sensitively accurate &
his notes were the most complete, comprehensive. He finished the legal cases in a day. Being a
devotee doesn’t mean to be lazy & complaisant. The govt. trusted Bhaktivinod Thakur more
than anyone else. What did he do with that fame & wealth? Raised the family to be pure
devotees of Krishna. He wrote volumes of books & songs to influence lives of thousands even
today. Even today people sing his songs & remember his life. Even great saints & babajis
would come to home of Bhaktivinod Thakur not for first class prasad but to hear his Srimad
Bhagvatam discussions after he had worked all day in the courts. These Babajis were so
detached e.g. Gaurkishoredas Babaji used to eat mud from the banks of Ganges & would hide
in the public toilets to avoid materialists. He would come to the house of Bhaktivinod Thakur
who had [great] estates etc... to learn about devotion. Civilization means to be civil. Civil means
to do to others what you want them to do to you – be kind. What is our purpose? Values?
Integrity of our lives? Even atheists honored Bhaktivinod Thakur because of his compassion &
unparalleled integrity. People respected him because he is a man of honor. Without these
qualities spirituality is misleading & hypocritical. When we actually live what Krishna revealed
& inspire others on the path of truth. Grihastha life means coming together for the purpose of
serving God & give highest gift to the society.
There are not many people in the mode of goodness even in India today. Some people are
attached to being good & doing good. Real attachment is to do what Krishna wants us to do.
Actual detachment is doing the will of God, not just being good person in the eyes of others.
Srila Prabhupada: "as long as you follow my instructions you are liberated". Devotees didn't
feel like that due to past conditioning & the allurements from other horizons. Old habits invite
us to have a re-union. Maya offers newer ways to enjoy ‘come & taste this, how can you
renounce what you have never tasted before?’ Krishna consciousness is [the only thing] that is
eternal & gives satisfaction to the heart. Bhakti is not just doing pious things, it is surrender to
the will of Krishna. Whether it may be warrior like Arjuna or a simple brahmacari like
Jananivas Prabhu.
Jananivas Prabhu came to India from UK in 1970 & never left India since then even once. That is
detachment. Never in 35 years any scandal or even a whisper about what he does is away from
what Srila Prabhupada instructed him. In Radha Madhava’s lotus feet he see's the universal
creation - all his forefathers will surely get liberated. [The] only time he sees a mirror is when he
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sees own twin brother Panjakangri Prabhu. He is completely blissful all the time. When he
dances the joy of the soul moves in all the directions. Because of absolute attachment to Guru’s
orders.
The heart that is not attracted by chanting
All this transcendental potencies, the potencies of the Lord are perfect and all attractive. When
the soul comes in contact with all attractive qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
the soul experiences inconceivable ecstasy of love which cannot be contained by material
means. We cannot understand what is ecstatic love with our intelligence, with our mind. We
can only understand it in truth by the mercy by the pure devotee when we see the grace of
Krishna. So if Krishna is non-different in His name then why is it that as we chant the holy
name we do not feel ecstasy of love. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has prayed nam nam akari bahuda
nij sarva shakti- Your name is all-attractive. You have many names and You have endowed
upon all Your opulences. But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, explains, I am so unfortunate that I have
no attraction for Your name. Although all are attracted to You I have no attraction for You. Yet
like a magnet naturally attracts a particle of metal or iron. But if that particle is covered by dirt
and other forms of contamination, then the attraction is not manifested. But when we clean the
piece of iron it comes to its natural state. It must be attracted to the magnet irresistibly. So the
heart that is not attracted by ecstatic love chanting of Krishna’s name, must be covered with so
many material contamination, must be covered with offenses to the name of the Lord.
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On how to approach Krishna
It is explained that a person should receive the dust of the feet of the Lord’s pure devotee on his
head. Otherwise such a person is compared to a dead body. If we want to serve the holy name,
we must understand we cannot approach Krishna directly. This is very important. Universal
principal of true spirituality. We cannot approach Krishna directly, Krishna will not be pleased,
we are so full of offenses, so full of contamination and Krishna is all-pure. We approach Him
through serving and pleasing His devotees- 'yasya Prasadad bhagavat prasado Yasya
aprasadad na gati kutopi'. If one pleases guru then one pleases Krishna. When one does not
please his guru, one can make all wonderful grand arrangements but Krishna will never be
pleased. And what pleases guru is when we serve the vaishnavas in proper state of humility
and devotion.
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What does it mean to take the dust from the lotus feet of devotees?
To take the dust of the feet of the vaishnavas means to become simply a very very sincere
servant of such souls. So many egoistic people, who are seeking the opportunity for cheap
spiritual benediction, they grab the feet of devotees thinking that lets us get the dust. Well that
is not what the scriptures talk about when they say that we must take the dust of the feet of the
great soul on our head. Generally such grabbing displeases the great souls.
What we mean to put yourself, to situate yourself at the lotus feet of the vaishnavas and that
means to serve them. We can explain in this way that the dust of the feet of the devotees is in
the form of the instructions they give and to take their instructions and put them on top of our
head which means to make them our life and soul. Know then carefully that is what is meant by
putting the dust of the feet of the souls on our heads. To sit and hear what they have to say
attentively - those great souls who are accurately and humbly spreading the message of the
Parampara. We listen to that carefully, submissively and then know what they say, do what
they say, for their pleasure. This is the process of putting the dust of the feet of the vaishnavas
upon our head. When we are willing to do this Krishna is pleased with our efforts.
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What is Success?
The success of anything we do in our life is to the degree it helps us to elevate us to that state of
loving Krishna. In any other success in this world people may adore, is all useless. Shram eva hi
kevalam. What is the use, its all temporary. You all will be washed by the innumerable ways of
time and forgotten. We become successful in our life when we do something wonderful,
everyone praises us but the next day a different wave comes and we do everything wrong and
make mistake and everyone condemns us. That is the waves of time. One day you are on top,
one day you are down. It is not on the basis of your free choice, it is just simply on a question of
your karma, question of your providence, question of the transient conditional of the three
modes of material nature. So why we think that is a great accomplishment to achieve anything
in a world where anything can be taken away any moment, anything can be rehearsed at any
second. Therefore Srimad Bhagvatam says the less we are progressing in the path of Krishna
developing a taste for hearing and chanting His glories then we are wasting our time.
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The Humility of Srila Haridas Thakur
Years later Haridas Thakur came to see Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannath Puri. If he was a
different kind of person, he would be the first in the line to see Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
He would say and the devotees would listen. "I defeated maya, I am the guru of maya so I am
seeing above all of you. Let me first offer my obeisances". But, yes he defeated maya, he made
her his disciple, he made all the situation, unconquerable in every situation, Advaita acharya
gave me the first sradha, not you, not you but I must be embraced by Lord Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu. Now although he had so successful career of Vaishnava, he did that nobody had
done. But he was lying in dust on the road to consider himself too fallen, too contaminated to
come in front of the Lord and he never ever wanted to attempt to go into the Jagannath’s
temple. He considered himself to be so low that he wasn’t qualified to go into the temple to see
Jaganath temple. But everyday Lord Jagannath in the form of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would
come to the house of Haridas Thakur, at sidha bakul, and would personally with His own
hands give him the mahaprasad and would personally reveal His Supreme Divine form before
Haridas. Yes. It is these qualities of humility and devotion in the mood of the servant of the
servant. Haridas Thakur was offered any benediction in all existence at maha prakash lila. He
was asked for any benediction in goloka Vrindavan, vaikunta, brahma jyoti and any thing in
this heavenly planet, anything on this earth, he could have received it immediately. At that, he
revealed what is proper qualification for chanting the holy name properly, why he is
namacharya. He asked for only one benediction that let me in every birth, if you desire that I
come again into this world, grant me this blessing to always have the supreme fortune of
receiving the remnants of food left behind by your devotees, the scraps of food your devotees
spit, of that is the treasure I long for I can always have the supreme fortune to taste that food,
what is the benediction I want let me take a birth in a form of dog in the house of your devotee
so that without difficulty I achieve remnants of the food they leave under plate and let me
always be the servants of the servants in such humility, honor and respect the vaishnavs. This
was his aspiration that he could chant the holy name and Krishna could reveal such ecstasy in
his heart. It was because of this humility and devotion his heart was so soft, so melted in
ecstatic love that no temptation of material existence can disturb his devotion.
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Lord Krsna likes simplicity and devotion
When Lord Sri Krishna came to visit Duryodhana, he prepared a wonderful feast for Him, such
a wonderful feast cooked by the most expert chefs in the kingdom. Duryodhana’s motivation
was, he knew that Krishna was God and he was thinking that by welcoming Him with great
honour and so many material gift and wonderful offerings of food, jewels, gold, that Krishna
will be impressed by him and give him the support which is required to rule the world at the
expense of the Pandavas. Krishna knew his heart. Although all the preparations were made,
Krishna did not go to the palace of Duryodhana. But instead he went to the simple house of
Vidura who although a great devotee, is seen as a shudra and had not much wealth at all. And
when he came to Vidura’s house, Vidura’s wife was so happy that Krishna came, but she was so
ashamed because there was no information of His arrival. So she had nothing to offer Him. All
she had in the house was some simple bananas and she was so nervous, so excited, that she
would peel the bananas and throw away the bananas and give Krishna the peels and Krishna
with great great joy, He ate the banana peels from the hands of the servant of His devotee,
Vidura. Krishna wanted to show the world through this pastime that He would rather take the
banana peels from His sincere devotees when it is offered with simplicity and devotion than
even the most wonderful treasures given by someone who is duplicitous in nature.
H H Radhanath Swami Mahara
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Prema
On one occasion he reached His hand in Shuklambar’s bag and took out the broken pieces of
rejected rice. When a beggar comes to your house, the common man does not give the beggar
the best thing. They give the beggar the worst thing, if anything. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
put this broken rice in His mouth and began to chew it. And Shuklambar bramhachari was
almost unconscious, ‘But my Lord, this rice is unfit for you. You are the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.’ And Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu just began to eat handful after handful after
handful. With tears of ecstatic loves in His eyes, He expressed, ‘I have never ever tasted
anything so sweet as the broken rice from the torn bag of Shuklambar brahmachari.’ And then
He bestowed the blessing upon Shuklambar that ‘when you were in the form of Sudama Vipra
in the previous life, I as Krishna also ate your broken rice. I incarnate again and again just to
accept your broken rice. I bestow upon you this benediction that your heart will always be
dancing in ecstatic love of Krishna.’ And when the devotees heard this, they became so happy.
The greatest happiness of the devotee is to see another devotee getting special mercy of the
Lord. They all began to cry out ‘Hari Bol!’ Hari Bol! Hari Bol! It is explained that anyone who
hears this narration with a sincere and submissive heart will achieve pure love of God; Krishna
prema, because this story illustrates the essence of Krishna consciousness. In our heart, we
should always feel ourselves very ordinary, common beggars, although our service may not be
to be an ordinary beggar. (pause) I heard Govind prabhu sent the brahmacharis out to become
beggars just just to learn simplicity and humility. So, perhaps, you are a common beggar in
regard to your social service or you may be a preacher or a sannyasi, or temple commander,
president, manager, may be a big businessman or a doctor, lawyer, housewife; you may be
Prime Minister or a King; or Guru. Devotees can take any position that Krishna and Vaishnavas
desire them to take but the essence of the service is not the activities they perform, but the
simplicity, the innocence, the humility in which they perform their activity and however great
or insignificant they may be, that is what gives pleasure to the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
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Lord Gouranga's example
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has delivered the world the most precious gift, Krishna prema,
Krishna bhakti in this dark age of Kali yuga. This age of Kali is the age where maya has the rule
over all the earth. Quarrel, uncontrolled senses, so many sinful activities provoked to the
influence of Kali all over the world. So Gauranga Mahaprabhu has come to bestow His mercy to
give everyone the chance of perfecting their lives in Krishna bhakti. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
made so many wonderful arrangements through His own life and teachings to inspire everyone
to become the servant of Krishna. Even while He was living in Navadvipa, once He called His
devotees together and He told them, "Today we will all clean Krishna's temple". Even the most
respectable and honored of all the Vaisnavas Sri Advaita, Srivasa, Shuklambhar, Murari,
Jagadananda, Vasu Ghosh, Madhava Ghosh, Haridas, most respected learned scholars,
worshipable Brahmins, advanced devotees. But Mahaprabhu Himself with broom in one hand
and shovel in another began to lead them in cleaning the temples and He was going place to
place inviting everyone to come and help to clean the temple of Krishna, sweeping, shoveling,
washing. It was their greatest joy. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Master Who is the
possessor of all six opulences in full, in what other incarnation does He take such a menial
position of cleansing the dirt in temple of the Lord? In this way, He exhibited how all devotees
are of one category ultimately of being Krishna's servant, the servant of Krishna's servants. The
Supreme Personality Radha & Krishna; Advaita Acarya who is also Sadashiv and also
MahaVisnu; Srivas, the greatest of all devotees Narada, the guru of such paramhansas, as
Dhruva & Prahlad, they were all blissfully & joyfully together cleaning the temple of Lord Hari.
Such a wonderful, beautiful example for all of us.
H H Radhanath Swami Mahara
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Pleasing Lord Chaitanya
Srila Prabhupada did not want us so concerned of our own personal liberation as he wanted us
concerned with pleasing Lord Chaitanya by pushing forward His great mission. So often we
hear Srila Prabhupada's lectures, he was defeating scientists, he was exposing mayavadis, he
was condemning material sense gratification, he was a bold preacher in the mood of Saraswati
Thakur. And for us knowing that this is the mission of Gurudev, these topics being pleasing to
him, are more vital & more transcendentally purifying than even the highest topics of Krishna
consciousness. Why?
yasya prasadad bhagavad prasado

yasya aprasadadad na gati kuto'pi
because by pleasing guru we please Krishna. And by pleasing Sri Radharani & Sri Krishna, we
should know that everything is included in that. This is the mood and direction which Srila
Prabhupada put our movement and we should have great faith that everything is included in
sincerely trying to purifying our own lives by performing attentive sadhana as he has
instructed, by humbly associating with devotees as he had instructed and in his mood to boldly
preach the glories of the Lord and invite everyone to come to the transcendental family of Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
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Krsna Consciousness is a practical process
Unless you inquire submissively and hear attentively, you cannot preach the message of
Godhead. Actually no one is guru except Krishna, everyone is disciple, everyone is servant and
it is our service being disciple to teach others and take position of guru. So here we find, Lord
Brahma humbling himself before Vishnu, "I do not know please philosophically explain, who I
am, who are You? What is this material world? And what is happiness? Arjuna asked Krishna
the same question, Sanatana Goswami asked Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu this same question,
Lord Chaitanya asked Ishwar Puri the same question. This is Parampara, to inquire
submissively, to serve. What we hear, Krishna consciousness is not a radical process, it is a
practical process. We must inquire submissively, we must hear from proper authorities.
Otherwise we do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done. But then it is essential
we must put those understandings into practice in our life. Through that process, practicing in a
spirit of humility and devotion, in a spirit of a servant of the servant, we get realization.
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PERFECT QUESTION AND ANSWERS – Having Problems - Accept Lord Krishna's Mercy
Devotee :
"Maharaj you said that difficulties come just to see that we come closer to Krishna but the
problem is when the difficulties come, the difficulties frequency is so high, one after one the
difficulties come. On the contrary one difficulty is not over before that another problem will be
standing in front of us. So the frequency is so high that we cant even think calmly or quietly that
this is the mercy of Krishna, instead of that we are so engrossed in solving that difficulty that
we don't have time to think that this is Krishna's mercy and because we are in a neophyte stage,
we can't think it on a positive direction. So at time when the frequency if very high or flow of
problems is so high what should we do, because at that time we are completely bewildered?"
HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj :
That means that the difficulties are not enough yet. When the difficulties are enough you just
fall on your hands and knees say 'Krishna save me', so there is more to come. Of course if you
just hear Bhagavatam nicely and associate with devotees nicely and attentively you can do that
without so many difficulties. Just fall on your knees and hands and say Krishna save me and
because you have not done that yet the difficulties will get worse and worse and worse by his
mercy. That's why Krishna is the supreme most merciful god. The demigods will give you what
you want, when you want if, you just pay the proper price. But Krishna will give you whatever
is required to make you fall at his lotus feet and surrender everything and that is why not so
many people come to Krishna.
I remember one time myself and Paramahamsa Krishna swami and a few others, we went on an
interfaith tour. And we went to one yoga community, it's a beautiful community and these
people are so incredibly well organised, it's unbelievable. They have a construction business
and so many of the grihasthas living there are the part of that construction business, and they
build houses for free for the community. And they build outside and they make a lot of money
and they are maintaining everything. The sanyasis and the bharmacharis they just need not
have to worry about one penny ever, and everything is so nicely organised and so harmonious
and everything is just the way you want it to be.
We were just travelling around this community and we were really impressed thinking, my
God, they are so very well organised, we can learn so much from them. And everything was so
clean and so nice and everyone was just "yes this is such a wonderful place", everyone was
saying this is such a wonderful place. They worship Lord Siva there, they have big Nataraj
murthy there, he is dancing. So we were thinking so many things we can learn from them, how
to organise, how to do business, how to keep everything very peaceful. But then as we were
leaving we were thinking that its wonderful place but its not a wonderful place to surrender, it's
a wonderful place to be peaceful.
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Then we talked to the Guru there, he was actually a very nice well wisher and he said because
you are the devotees of lord Krishna you can never have a place like this, he will never allow it,
the Guru was telling us like this. He says if we worship Krishna, we could never do it like this.
Everything will be going wrong, he said because Krishna is purna avatar, he is telling us this
"Krishna is the fullest, complete manifestation of Godhead". Therefore he will do whatever it
takes to make his devotee totally surrender to his lotus feet; he is not obliged to anything or
anyone else. He said therefore your community New Vrindavan is having so many problems.
He said, what do you expect you are worshiping Krishna. If you start worshiping the way we
are worshiping those problems may go away. But if we start worshiping Krishna all those
problems may probably come here, he was saying like this. He said Krishna is the greatest of all
the gods, he is the purna avatar, the fullest, the most complete, he will do anything to make his
devotee surrender. So he was praising Krishna. And he said if you don't want anxiety in your
spiritual life then worship another god. But if you want the highest level of pure devotion and
surrender then worship Krishna, but you have to pay the price.
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Be faithful to the chanting of Krishna’s name
We find Srila Haridas Thakur, he was sitting in his little hut, Bhajan kutir and he was chanting
the holy names Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare. And maya herself came to tempt him and seduce him with all of her
powers and ultimately because he was so faithful to the chanting of Krishna’s name, she
ultimately surrendered to him and requested him initiation- diksha- became his disciple. But if
we are not very, very careful to follow in the footsteps of Haridas Thakur and always remain
fixed in steadily and attentively chanting the holy name according to prescribed number, this is
the example he taught, and always remain the humble servant of the Vaisnavas, then maya will
make so many grand tricking arrangement to take us away from the true path of devotion.
H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj.
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Learning the art of living in the service of Krishna
Krishna consciousness is simple. Just be conscious of Krishna.Just learn through proper

guidance and association of a guru and of genuine sadhus whether they are in white or saffron.
A genuine sadhu by quality learns the art of living in the service of Krishna, living without
greed, without pride but living as a humble servant. In the material world everyone wants to be
the controller. In the spiritual world, everyone wants to be controlled, controlled by God’s love,
to be the slave. The people have this word slavery, there are wars to free people from slavery.
But in Krishna consciousness, we aspire to be like a slave, a slave of love, completely controlled
by God's love. That is the position of spiritual ecstasy and that is the ultimate goal of all the
scriptures. The Bhagavatam explains that even if you perform your spiritual path through out
your life, even you perform your occupation very nicely until the day you die, if in the end
what you have done, if it does not culminate in the loving devotion of the Supreme Lord, you
have simply wasted your entire life. Any single moment, if not utilized in the aspiration of the
service of God, is a horrible waste of human existence.
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Love shown to a devotee is love shown to Krishna
We should learn how to see Krishna's complete and perfect plans, that Guru is willing to suffer
like anything by the arrangement of Krishna just to increase our love for him and Krishna is
perfectly arranging this situation to give us this opportunity to increase our love for him, but if
we take it cold-heartedly, "Krishna is perfect. It does not matter" Then what happens? - No
benefit, no increase of love, no increase of attachment, no increase of gratitude. Yes, it is
happening under Krishna’s control, it is perfect for this reason; to help us recognise our
indebtedness; our need for the mercy of Sri Gurudev and for that matter for the great
Vaishnavas. Learning how to cry for Vaishnavas increases our service attitude like anything,
it increases our love. Love shown to a devotee is love shown to Krishna.
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What does it mean to be the servant of the servants of the servants
Narottam das Thakur has said without serving a great vaishnava, one cannot ever approach
Krishna. Our love for the Vaishnavas is our love for Krishna. So just as Gargamuni and Nanda
Maharaj were so much worried for Krishna, similarly we must have the same type of concern
for all of Krishna’s representatives; all the devotees, we must see all of them as representatives
of Krishna, all the Vaishnavas. Srila Prabhupada would tell us that you are all the
representatives of my Guru Maharaj. Srila Prabhupada was worried about us thinking about us,
he was completely on a transcendental platform and he wanted to do the same thing for one
another. To take care of one another, to protect one another, by doing this Krishna will accept
that love. ‘Love My devotee that’s how to love Me, worship My devotee that’s how you
worship Me’. Ah! The devotee is not Krishna, but every devotee is dear to Krishna, if you
cannot show your love for devotees, you cannot show your love for Krishna. And even if you
try, Krishna will not accept it. If you don’t care for the devotees then your so called care for
Krishna has very little meaning to Him and to develop this spirit is really what is Krishna
Consciousness and to develop this spirit in true sense is the realisation of Mahaprabhu Sri
Chaitanya’s order. To be the servant of the servant of the servant. To be the servant doesn’t
mean just a formal position, it means to actually put your heart in your service, Nanda Maharaj,
Gargamuni and Vasudeva, how much they put their heart into the service of Krishna. Therefore
they personally were interested in His welfare in every regard. So to be the servant of the
servant of the servant is to think of such welfare of other servants of Krishna, according to
our capacity. This is Krishna Consciousness.
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Krishna reveals Himself according to how we approach Him
Seek and you shall find. If you are looking for faults, you will find faults in everyone and
anywhere, if you are looking for the good, you will find the good everywhere and anywhere. It
is a question of what you want. Krishna will reveal Himself according to how you approach
Him. Shishupal only saw faults in Krishna, whereas Arjuna, Yudhishtar, they only saw the
glory of Krishna. According to how they approached Krishna they were saved. Krishna is in the
heart of everyone. So finding faults with the devotees is a disease, it is a contagious disease, it is
a sickening disease and seeing the good and virtues in devotees is opulence. It’s a benediction.
So we should not be diseased, we should not spread disease; we should spread love and
goodness.
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Youth: If you make Krishna the center of your life
So I have great prayer to all of you, just take this ISKCON Youth Forum very seriously. It is the
most important part of your life; don't let anyone discourage you away from it. In the Christian
Bible it says 'What is your gain if you win the whole world but you lose your own soul?' Jesus
Christ spoke those words to the people of the west. What is the use if you win over and gain
the whole world but you lose your own eternal soul? But if you find peace and joy within, God
will help you, Krishna will help you. Srila Prabhupada had nothing, he went to America; he
used to tell that he would come to India, he knew that the Indian people were so chasing after
the wealth of the west, just be Krishna Conscious. He said look at me. He said I went to the
west with forty rupees, and now under me my movement is spending about fifty lakhs
everyday. So many temples, so many everything. He said if you were just surrender to Krsna
and you are willing to use everything in Krishna's service, He can give you anything. He said I
never even tried for money. I just tried to serve Krishna honestly and to preach His message
and you all look; temples in Manhattan, New York city, temples in Chicago, temples in Los
Angeles, not just small, big, big, big, beautiful. When Prabhupada hears of the skyscrapers in
Manhattan so much, I remember in a lecture in Bombay, he was explaining, how many lakhs
are spent everyday in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. And it started with
forty rupees. Not that he was trying to convince people that if you take to Krishna
consciousness you will get lakhs of rupees. But what he was trying to convince people is just
have faith in God. People are thinking, if I chant Hare Krishna how will I make money? People
are so afraid; they're so paranoid about money and economy. If I join this ISKCON Youth
Forum how will I possibly get good grades and get a good job. I'll wait till after I get my
degree. But then after you get your degree, then I have to work and I have to work and I have
to work. This way your life is lost. And if you make Krishna the center of your life, Krishna
will give you everything. But most of all; He will give you peace, He will give you happiness,
He'll give a purified heart and give you love. And materially; don't worry about these
things. Just do your work honestly and properly with God in the center. When I first came to
India, I still have nothing but I'm not starving, but my biggest problem is trying to keep
prasadam away. People are always bringing me prasadam. When I first came to India I had
nothing, not even one rupee. If you take to Krishna consciousness you don't care about these
things, then it comes, Krishna will maintain. Why people are so worried about all these
things? Because they have no faith. You live an honest life, you do your job properly in a spirit
of Krishna Consciousness, and you'll find real happiness, you'll find bliss and you can do
something great for the world.
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The heart that is not attracted by chanting
All this transcendental potencies, the potencies of the Lord are perfect and all attractive. When
the soul comes in contact with all attractive qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
the soul experiences inconceivable ecstasy of love which cannot be contained by material
means. We cannot understand what is ecstatic love with our intelligence, with our mind. We
can only understand it in truth by the mercy by the pure devotee when we see the grace of
Krishna. So if Krishna is non-different in His name then why is it that as we chant the holy
name we do not feel ecstasy of love. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has prayed nam nam akari bahuda
nij sarva shakti- Your name is all-attractive. You have many names and You have endowed
upon all Your opulences. But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, explains, I am so unfortunate that I have
no attraction for Your name. Although all are attracted to You I have no attraction for You. Yet
like a magnet naturally attracts a particle of metal or iron. But if that particle is covered by dirt
and other forms of contamination, then the attraction is not manifested. But when we clean the
piece of iron it comes to its natural state. It must be attracted to the magnet irresistibly. So the
heart that is not attracted by ecstatic love chanting of Krishna’s name, must be covered with so
many material contamination, must be covered with offenses to the name of the Lord.
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Do not chant mechanically
There are ten offenses to the holy name which we recite every morning before beginning our
japa period. It is very important to understand these ten offenses and very attentively and
carefully guard them throughout the entire day. When we actually chant the holy name of
Krishna, in a state of mind, in which we are pleasing Krishna, then Krishna manifests Himself
within His name. The holy name has its own independent free will, because the Holy Name is
Krishna Himself and Srimati Radharani Herself and They appear according to the particular
state of consciousness we approach Them. Therefore we cannot chant mechanically. It is not just
a program, our mind, just like a tape recorder and our mouth you repeat the sound vibration
that we will get the same results. No doubt if we are doing it under the instructions of the
spiritual master even if it is in a very clumsy way, there will be benefit. There will be
purification. But it is gradual. We should come to the stage of sincerely aspiring to chant the
holy name in a way that is pleasing to Krishna.
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The real bullet and the blank bullet
The first and most important instructions that the great soul give us - to hear the glories of the
Lord and very very attentively chant His holy names. If we do not chant His holy name in
mood of being the servant of the servant of the Lord, if we do not hear the holy names from one
who is actually a genuine vaishnava then our chanting of the name will simply be a sound
without a potency. The example is given that these are two types of bullets - one is the real
bullet and one is a blank bullet. Sometimes in the movies or in the drama set in order to get
some effects, they have blank guns and blank bullets and they are shooting each other. You see
in the movies, they are shooting, they are using blank bullets. It sounds identically exactly like
the real bullet, the only difference is nothing comes out. It's completely harmless. So if we are
chanting the holy name with wrong disposition of mind or we are receiving the instruction of
how to chant the holy name from the wrong sources, it may sound exactly like the name of
Krishna but it will have no potency because Krishna will not be pleased to reveal Himself to
us through His name.
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Unless Lord bestows His mercy, there is no other way
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was lying in front of Sarvabhauma Bhatacharya. And Gopinath
acharya who was the relative of Sarvabhauma, he was also present and Sarvabhauma was
saying about Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that he has taken sanyas from Bharti Sampradaya,
this is low class, I have the power and I have the authority to elevate him to higher grade of
sanyas and besides that he is very very young and such a young beautiful person, how will he
maintain his value of celibacy as a sanyasi, so many young ladies will be attracted to him
undoubtedly. So I will teach him scrutinizingly the Vedanta sutra so that he can discriminate
between maya and truth, between brahma and nitya. And Gopinath Acarya said what nonsense
are you speaking. He is the Supreme absolute truth, He is parabrahma, He is Bhagawan, He
does not require your help to elevate grade of sanyas, He does not need your teaching to free
Him from maya, He is the controller of maya. And Sarvabhauma said do you know whom you
are talking to, you are talking to the greatest scholar of Vedanta in all the world, you don’t think
I can detect Bhagawan? Bhagawan cannot appear in Kaliyuga, He appeared in three Yugas Sata
Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dwarpa Yuga, not in Kaliyuga. I am a man you get not just speak
nonsense to me. Gopinath acharya said unless you receive the mercy of the Lord you will not
understand who He is even though He is living right in your house, even though you are
touching Him with your hands, even though you are seeing Him with your eyes, even though
you are speaking to Him with your mouth and hearing with your ears, you cannot recognize
who He is unless He is pleased to reveal Himself to you. Unless He bestows His mercy upon
you, there is no other way.
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What is the purpose of life if you don’t have love for Krishna?
So in the same way Krishna’s name, when we are chanting it in the morning, Krishna is there
dancing on our tongue. Why we are not enraptured in ecstasy, why tears are not coming, why
hairs are not standing, why our hands are not trembling, why we are not perspiring turning
pale, not falling unconscious and going into trance voice choked up. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
explained when will that day be when I am longing for that day when I will chant Your name
and these ecstatic symptoms be visible on My body. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu once jumped in
the Ganges and went under the waters. Haridas Thakur and Nityanand Prabhu, they jumped in
because they saw that He was about to go under to bottom of Ganges and disappear forever.
They somehow forcibly pulled Him out of the water and put Him on the banks of Ganga. But
when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu saw that He was lying on the bank, He said ‘What have you done
this, I had jumped in Ganges to end My life". He said, "I have no love for Krishna. So what is the
use of living without love for Krishna? What is the purpose of life if you don’t have love for
Krishna? What is the fulfillment of any activities without love for Krishna. If I had one drop
of love for Krishna in My heart, I could not possibly breathe, I could not possibly live for a
moment in separation from Him. The reality is, I am breathing, I am living in separation from
Krishna that means, I have no love for Krishna. So what is the purpose of life, why should I go
on living?" This is the example of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu how we should strive for, how we
should long for, how we should aspire for every action of existence for that love for Krishna,
making that only standard of our success.
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Surrender yourself to Krsna
If you can do any of these things, you should know, 'my position is not very strong. I am
depending upon the mercy of guru and Krishna. Without the mercy of guru and Krishna even
when I walk and I am running over these mountains peaks without mercy I fall flat on my face,
I am speaking beautiful words of philosophy and poetry’s but without the mercy of guru and
Krishna, I cannot think about a single thing to say'.
Keshava Kashmiri was a favorite devotee of Saraswati-the goddess of learning. And all the
knowledge, all poetry’s, all decorative embellishment and speech were constantly on the tip of
his tongue. He was thoroughly undefeatly in debate. He traveled to every province of India and
every learned scholar came before him and was poverished by his capacity. He had Saraswati’s
blessing. Everyone knew this, he would chant his prayers and mantras to Saraswati Devi and
she would give every kind of ornamented speech answer to any question. He came before
Nimai Pandit on the banks of Ganga in Navadweeep. The scholars of Navadweep were very
much afraid. We are famous of being the most highest seat of learning in the world. One of Srila
Prabhupada’s Godbrothers had recalled in comparison, Navadweep is that time we called the
Oxford of India, Oxford is something different. Navadweep is full of material education,
greatest scholars they were very worried that if Keshav Kashmiri defeats us, Navadvipa will
lose its whole reputation.
None of us will dare to stand before him because he has the power of Sarasvati. He came to
Nimai. Nimai offered him respects and said, "Can you recite a verse about the river Ganga. The
glories of Ganga devi." Keshav Kashmiri began to speak instantly. He spoke hundreds of
verses, in glorification of Mother Ganges. He spoke them in such a beautiful beautiful poetic
language. All perfect rhyme and rhythm all based on sastras. And the young boys, Nimai
Pandit was a grammar teacher with little children learning from him, they were struck with
wonder. They had never seen anyone reciting poetry like this, spontaneously and Nimai
understood what is the use of all this if you are not pleasing Krishna. It is all useless. So He
said, "Out of this, please tell me what are the good points and what are the mistakes". And
Keshav Kashmiri said, "I have never spoken anything in mistake." And Nimai said, "what
about……..." And He began to point out the mistakes in his poetry. In first time in Keshava
Kashmiri’s whole life, his tongue did not move. He said, "Sarasvati, move move, move it." He
could not say anything. His mind became blank. He could not think anything. He was
incapable. He was like a dumb man. He just stood there, he was totally embarrassed and
helpless. And all the children started laughing at him.
But Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to destroy his pride, his integrity. "But Panditji, today
you are not able to answer my question. But tomorrow we will meet again and give us some
more poetries. And think about how to answer my questions". That night Keshav Kashmiri was
weeping and crying. He was devastated and praying to hid Goddess Sarasvati, why did you
leave me, why did you abandon me, when I needed you the most, I could not think of anything.
I couldn’t speak anything. I am the greatest. And in utter frustration he fell asleep. Sarasvati
appeared and told him, "Whatever power I am having, I am getting, from Nimai Pandit because
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He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. My great mercy to you, all your
knowledge I took away from you so that you should surrender yourself to Him. That is the
ultimate blessing I can give you. Now you go to Him and surrender to Him. That will be the
perfection of your life". Keshav Kashmiri went and he surrendered to Lord Krishna. Next
morning he went to his house and gave up all his elephants and all his chariots and all of his
thousands of followers. And became a very humble devotee. And then he was able to cherish
the glories of the name of Krishna. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
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Krishna is pleased to sit in a heart which has melted with humility and devotion
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, when he became humble, when he became a humble servant of
the servant of the Lord, then whatever he did was most pleasing to the Supreme Lord. We must
prepare ourselves in this way, that our hearts become soft. It is described here if the symptoms
of transcendental ecstasy are not manifesting when we are chanting the holy name it means that
our heart is steel framed. Krishna is pleased to sit in a heart which has melted with humility
and devotion. That so softer than the softest. The hard heart is not pleasing place for Krishna.
What are the symptoms of a hard heart? Enviousness toward others, jealousy, thinking ill about
others, hoping for the worst for the others. They are the symptoms of a hard heart. False pride
and wanting to take credit for what we have done and loving to hear ourselves honored. These
are the signs of hard hearts. Material attachments, lust, kama for the pleasure of the senses,
greed even if we have what we need, we want more and more. Material pleasure, anger,
illusion, these are all symptoms of steel framed heart. If we want to taste the nectar we have to
make the heart soft. And the process of Krishna Consciousness is to melt the heart to make the
heart so soft that natural qualities of the soul can manifest through our heart.
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So it is better to be simple
You get a beautiful house, car, wife or husband whatever you have you immediately start
thinking that everyone wants it because I am enjoying it so much everyone must want it and
then you become fearful and suspicious of everything and everyone and there is no happiness
in having these things it just brings about misery and anxiety we cannot even have any trusting
friends when you are attached to things in the material world it is a fact. The only people who
can have true deep friendship with others are people who are detached because they are not
suspicious of anyone they can actually be well-wishers to the degree we are attached we can
make nice friends with someone but as soon as we start thinking that, that person may want
what I have then that is suspicion, this is envy. That is why how many people in this world
remain good friends. Even amongst family members how many people really trust each other
because everyone has there attachment, everyone is afraid that somebody may want to take
something that I have, this is envy. So it is better to be simple.
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Compassion of Srila Haridas Thakur
The process of Krishna Consciousness is to melt the heart to make the heart so soft that natural
qualities of the soul can manifest through our heart. And what are those qualities? To be ever
well-wisher of all living beings, not to exploit and enjoy at the expense of others. But expenses
of ourselves, to give pleasure and enlightenment to others.
Haridas Thakur, he chanted the name constantly. He manifested all the symptoms of ecstatic
love. But what were his qualities? He was willing to be beaten into the market place into death.
He didn’t mind. But he did not give up showing compassion and kindness and enlightenment
in the process of Hari kirtan. Even a women who came specifically to disgrace him and ruin his
image and ultimately the cause to put him in prison. She came of that most malicious and
terrible purposes of destroying his reputation and destroying his life itself. And he knew that
she had come for that. He could have left but he stayed on just to give her Krishna prema. Such
tolerance!! such forgiveness!! such humility!!
When Haridas Thakur came to Jaganath Puri to meet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, all the devotees
came to the Gambhira to meet him. He was lying on the road away, lying in the dust of the road
in prostrated obeisance while all the devotees were talking to the Lord. They were forcefully
embracing the Lord. Actually the Lord was embracing them by force or by his affection. He
asked where is Thakur Haridas? O there, he is lying, in the dust! He feels he is unqualified even
to be with the association of your devotees. He feels unqualified to come close to you, he is so
contaminated this is his feeling. Yet he is Namaacharya.
Previous to this, not only this, he converted this most wicked minded prostitute into a
Vaishnava. The Maya herself appeared in front of him with all her charms in a form of a
woman. Now think a woman who is little nice designed in this world, our mind becomes Oh
very nice! or a man who has very nice physical structure the woman says very nice. He will
become intoxicated and infatuated completely in this illusion. What is the power of such
beauty? It is just infinite tiny little energy of maya manifesting through someone to illusion you.
The whole maya came in a form of prostitute. Can you imagine how she appeared like? Don't
imagine!!!All forgiveness!!! I place my head at your feet and beg you to forget this!!! Don’t
imagine this!!! She came before Haridas and all of her prowess for 3 consecutive nights at a
lonely place at place called Phulia.
We are going to Phulia, when we are going for Mayapur yatra. You should all come for the
Mayapur yatra because when we go to Phulia, you can pray to Haridas to save you from
Maya. It is this place where this lila took place for 3 nights. They were all alone. It is not that he
had Godbrothers and it was not a bramachari ashram or bramachari is telling, "Prabhu don’t
associate with this woman. Prabhu don’t talk to her without somebody there." It wasn’t like
that. They were all alone in the middle of the forest and she was just her amorous gestures, her
sweet words, she was doing everything within her powers to melt his heart. But Haridas
Thakur’s heart was already melted for Krishna, not for her. He was tasting the sweetness of
Hari naam.
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For him experiencing ecstacy of chanting Krishna’s name is such a infinite joy that pleasures of
this world is useless, waste of time. Yamuna acharya prayed like this now that I am tasting the
nectar of serving Krishna, the pleasure of sex and attractions of this world are hypnotizing the
mind of man I spit at them they have no pleasure. Experiencing higher taste, you do not care for
these modal pleasures of the flesh. Only eternal joy of the soul is present so Haridas Thakur, he
cared nothing for this prostitute's charms because he was tasting Krishna’s charms by
chanting very loudly Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare
Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Ultimately Mayadevi was defeated by Haridas Thakur after 3 consecutive nights using all her
power. The name which he was chanting conquered her. The compassion and love in his heart
made her submit to him and she fell at his feet with tears in her eyes and begged Haridas
Thakur to be her guru and give her the initiation into the Hare Krishna maha mantra. This is the
status of Haridas Thakur.
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Humility and devotion makes heart soft
Years later Haridas Thakur came to see Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannath Puri. If he was a
different kind of person, he would be the first in the line to see Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
He would say and the devotees would listen. "I defeated maya, I am the guru of maya so I am
seeing above all of you. Let me first offer my obeisances". But, yes he defeated maya, he made
her his disciple, he made all the situation, unconquerable in every situation, Advaita acharya
gave me the first sradha, not you, not you but I must be embraced by Lord Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu.
Now although he had so successful career of Vaishnava, he did that nobody had done. But he
was lying in dust on the road to consider himself too fallen, too contaminated to come in front
of the Lord and he never ever wanted to attempt to go into the Jagannath’s temple. He
considered himself to be so low that he wasn’t qualified to go into the temple to see Jaganath
temple. But everyday Lord Jagannath in the form of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would come to the
house of Haridas Thakur, at sidha bakul, and would personally with His own hands give him
the mahaprasad and would personally reveal His Supreme Divine form before Haridas. Yes. It
is these qualities of humility and devotion in the mood of the servant of the servant. Haridas
Thakur was offered any benediction in all existence at maha prakash lila.
He was asked for any benediction in goloka Vrindavan, vaikunta, brahma jyoti and any thing in
this heavenly planet, anything on this earth, he could have received it immediately. At that, he
revealed what is proper qualification for chanting the holy name properly, why he is
namacharya. He asked for only one benediction that let me in every birth, if you desire that I
come again into this world, grant me this blessing to always have the supreme fortune of
receiving the remnants of food left behind by your devotees, the scraps of food your devotees
spit, of that is the treasure I long for I can always have the supreme fortune to taste that food,
what is the benediction I want let me take a birth in a form of dog in the house of your devotee
so that without difficulty I achieve remnants of the food they leave under plate and let me
always be the servants of the servants in such humility, honor and respect the vaishnavs.
This was his aspiration that he could chant the holy name and Krishna could reveal such
ecstasy in his heart. It was because of this humility and devotion his heart was so soft, so melted
in ecstatic love that no temptation of material existence can disturb his devotion.
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We are not interested in imitation
One time a snake charmer, he was actually special person, he was chanting a particular prayer
glorification how Krishna danced on the head of the serpent kaliya and as he was chanting
there were many people gathering around him to hear. He was just like a mystic snake killer
and when Haridas Thakur, he started, he couldn’t control his ecstatic symptoms; tears started
coming through his eyes, his limbs started trembling, hair was standing on end, his body was
changing colors, his voice got choked up and he was dancing like a mad man ecstatically and
then fell to the ground in apparently unconscious state of trance. And the snake man was so
impressed with devotion of Haridas that he started to touch his feet, circumblating him and
worshipping him and all the people around started doing the same thing.
So there was a learned Brahman, a scholarly brahman who was thinking, 'see what a fame and
attention this person is getting.' So he started imitating exactly like Haridas Thakur; tears
started flowing from his eyes, his hairs started standing on end, his limbs started trembling, he
started dancing like a madman then fell down in an ecstatic trance apparently. Then the same
snake man began to beat him, beat him until his every body and limb was very black and blue
and he was beating and the man was shouting save me save me, he was beating and beating
him until he ran away to save his life and then the people didn’t understand what’s happening.
They said when Haridas did this you were worshipping him and praising him and when this
man did the same thing you beat him and beat him. Why? This man is a learned brahman and
Haridas is an untouchable by caste. But Krishna doesn’t care for one's caste, the fact is of the
softness of his heart was exhibiting his natural love for Krishna which is worshipable by
everyone but this person, due to envy and pride, was thinking, 'he (Haridas) is an untouchable
why should he get this fame and reputation? I am a brahman, I deserve it more'. So he was
imitating his own exploitative envious prideful reasons and it is explained that Anatha Shesha
appeared in the body of the person to praise Haridas and beat the imitator.
We are reading in today’s purport, Srila Viswatnath Thakur Chakraborty, Srila Prabhupada
and other acharyas warn us against such imitators and India is full of such people, many
actress in any given time began to cry; tears begin to flow from the eyes, they train themselves.
You can train yourselves to do these things if you just try hard to cry then you can just at any
moment make tears just pour out of your eyes. There are people you can do this. It is just a
matter of practice. What to speak of sentimental ladies, any given thing and they start weeping,
they are experiencing Bhava, some material anxiety.
So you can actually imitate these things and so Viswanath Chakraborty Thakur say if you get
some material power you can actually make your hairs stand on end, make your body changes
colors, all these symptoms of ecstacy can appear on a person if he has practiced this art, he
makes his body do these things. How do you know he is in ecstasy or not? You should know.
So it is here, it is explained by acharyas you should know by the standard symptoms because
most of the people who exhibit these ecstatic symptoms are worshipped by thousands of people
like Bhagwan, Mahaprabhu or so many other great souls they have realistic relationship they
are addicted to intoxication everyone.
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Srila Prabhupada said even at the holiest place, the Radha Kund, there are Babaji who exhibit
all these ecstasy and they know all the scriptures so well and they cannot live an hour without
smoking a bidi or chewing tobacco, they cannot have peace of mind. They know that their
gopi’s are waiting for them in this way. What is the use? We can understand who is actually in
the level of advanced Krishna Consciousness not by these symptoms but by the detachment
from material activities and someone who is humbly serving the previous acharyas, by
someone who is always anxious to hear about the glories of Krishna, someone who doesn’t
waste his life in worldly affairs, these are things you see and understand. We are not
impressed by what could be the imitation.
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Ultimate perfection of all of our desires
We should have the perfection of our heart's desires and the very perfection of our human life is
when our heart internally melts in such transcendentally, into ecstasy upon chanting the names
of Krishna. And the fact that we are not most in such ecstatic love when we chant the holy name
should be the proof, the irrevocable evidence, that I am not really an advanced devotee. So I
should, whatever good qualities I have, I have such a long way to go. So let me just humble
myself before the vaishnavas. Let me be the humble servant of the Lord’s devotees. Let me
scrutinize and be careful to be able to follow the instructions of the spiritual master and let me
do my sadhana with such sincerity that Krishna will someday take notice. However long it
takes, it’s worth. It is ultimate perfection of all of our desires. Let us follow in the footsteps of
the great soul with humility and devotion and thus melt the steel-framed hearts that are giving
us so much troubles and problems in the world. Ceto darpana marjanam- it is through chanting
the holy name in an offenseless way, living our living in that way, we come to that stage where
we can experience the nectar of Krishna Consciousness kirtanaya sada hari- Srila Prabhupada ki
jai! Sri Harinam Sankirtan ki jai! Sri Sri Radha Gopinath ki jai! Nitai Gaur premanandi, Hari
Hari Bol!
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What is fulfillment? Free from Pride
Lord Caitanya's instruction to Vasudev, the leper, when he asked how to be free of pride: Chant
My holy names, be a kind friend to others and give them Krishna consciousness. If you
follow this principle, pride will never enter into your heart. If our purpose is to please, to
serve, if our purpose is striving to become selfless in our service, the joy of Bhakti is
experienced to the degree we are selfless in our efforts. To the degree we have false ego and
selfish motivations in what we do; that activity cannot bring fulfillment to the heart because
fulfillment comes from the reciprocation of Krishna being pleased within. That is fulfillment.
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Krishna consciousness is the original consciousness
It is such a gift to have the opportunity to come to this great movement of Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu, in the association of His devotees. Krishna consciousness, which is the original
consciousness of every living entity, is the sublime realisation that we are all the eternal
servants of Krishna’s servants. Krishna consciousness is based on such a deep systematic
philosophy, answering all questions, which human kind has ever asked, but its application is
very simple. The essence of Krishna consciousness is simplicity, absolute innocence without
any sophistication at all because, in such a simple heart, Krishna becomes pleased to accept our
service.
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One single speck of dust from Sri Gurudev
When a devotee is in a humble state of mind, that devotee can bear all sorts of injustices upon
how his father Hiranyakasipu tried to kill him in so many ways----through fire, through snakes,
elephants, but he never criticized his father, never blamed his father-he was humble. He just
Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
One of our great acharyas explained that one speck of dust of Srila Prabhupada has the power
to deliver the entire universe.
One single speck of dust from Sri Gurudev has the strength to deliver tens and crores of people
and all the knowledge in all the Universities and all the reasonings of all the philosophers and
all the wealth of the industrialists and all the politics of the politicians, all multiplied together,
does not equal even a fraction of the weight of one speck of dust from the lotus feet of the
previous acharyas. This is the statement that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati made about Gaur
Kishore das Babaji.
We can make the same about Srila Prabhupada. Therefore it is my most honoured duty in life to
sprinkle those particles of dust wherever we go, by our behaviour and by the sincerity and
wish, we pray for the benefit of others and chant the Holy names Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. On behalf of Srila
Prabhupada, I thank you very much.
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HOW TO RENDER SERVICE
Devotional service should not be rendered in a proud way. We should not think that rendering
service is to show how nice we are, how good we are, how devoted we are. Rendering service
in a proper state of mind means to always take a position of being menial and insignificant. We
may not have this consciousness of menial significance frame of mind, but we should aspire for
that in our service and we should aspire for that when we hear the glories of the Lord. And we
should aspire for that when we chant the holy name of the Lord. Das das das dasanu das. When
we aspire in all our devotional practices for this most glorious position of das dasanu das, then
Krishna will take our prayers seriously and then by His Grace, He will remove ahankara, the
false ego. Until He removes it, we will all be imprisoned by it. You do not have the power to
remove it. But by your humble menial service to the Lord you will attract His Divine Mercy. He
removes it. And for Him, nothing is impossible.
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Applying Srila Prabhupada's teaching to our life
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself in the role of a devotee to teach us how to be
devoted. The basic principle of Lord Caitanya's life and teachings is service to vaisnavas in
loving relationships amongst vaisnavas. So this must be very carefully and systematically
established in our minds. Devotees need to be protected. Devotees need to be cared for.
Devotees need to be loved. And devotees need to be taught how to show love. This is what Srila
Prabhupada has given us in his books. Actually, everything is in Srila Prabhupada's books.
There is no higher philosophy. There is nothing absent that we require in our life that's not
there. But if we are not applying his teaching to our life, then there is dissatisfaction.
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What determines our spiritual progress
We have to know, our spiritual advancement is not determined by what position we take in this
movement. Because positions are very temporary. Our spiritual advancement is determined by
our humility and our desire to serve, and our attentiveness to practice the principles of Krsna
consciousness. We know as a fact that if one chants the Holy Name of the Lord offenselessly, he
eradicates all sins from the heart, and gradually achieves love of Krsna.
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Lord Krsna likes simplicity and devotion
When Lord Sri Krishna came to visit Duryodhana, he prepared a wonderful feast for Him, such
a wonderful feast cooked by the most expert chefs in the kingdom. Duryodhana’s motivation
was, he knew that Krishna was God and he was thinking that by welcoming Him with great
honour and so many material gift and wonderful offerings of food, jewels, gold, that Krishna
will be impressed by him and give him the support which is required to rule the world at the
expense of the Pandavas. Krishna knew his heart. Although all the preparations were made,
Krishna did not go to the palace of Duryodhana. But instead he went to the simple house of
Vidura who although a great devotee, is seen as a shudra and had not much wealth at all. And
when he came to Vidura’s house, Vidura’s wife was so happy that Krishna came, but she was so
ashamed because there was no information of His arrival. So she had nothing to offer Him. All
she had in the house was some simple bananas and she was so nervous, so excited, that she
would peel the bananas and throw away the bananas and give Krishna the peels and Krishna
with great great joy, He ate the banana peels from the hands of the servant of His devotee,
Vidura. Krishna wanted to show the world through this pastime that He would rather take the
banana peels from His sincere devotees when it is offered with simplicity and devotion than
even the most wonderful treasures given by someone who is duplicitous in nature.
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We should always feel ourselves very ordinary common beggars
In a simple heart, Krishna becomes pleased to accept our service as is illustrated in the story of
Shuklambar bramhachari. He was such a great devotee, so learned, so deeply realised, but yet
he appeared in such simplicity. He was a brahmin and a beggar. With his little torn bag, he
would go to atleast ten houses every day to beg for some rice. And at the end of the collecting,
he would prepare that rice and offer it to Krishna. But the whole while he was always chanting
Krishna’s holy name in such devotion that his lips and his heart never ceased to vibrate
Krishna’s most auspicious and merciful name.
And the ordinary people of Navadvipa could not recognise his glories. They considered him a
common beggar, because he in no way wanted to present himself as anything but a common
beggar. But the devotees of the Lord understood that he was worshipable by all creation. When
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was sitting in the house of Srivas (Thakur), kirtan was going on.
The Lord was sitting on Vishnu’s throne and the devotees were chanting and dancing.
Shuklambar bramhachari was always present whenever Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabu would
chant and dance in kirtan. And he would dance with such simplicity, with such innocence, such
carefree devotion; he was simply dancing. Dancing and chanting joyfully for the pleasure of the
Lord and when Lord Chaitanya would see such humble and simple devotion, he would
become so pleased. On one occasion he reached His hand in Shuklambar’s bag and took out the
broken pieces of rejected rice. When a beggar comes to your house, the common man does not
give the beggar the best thing.
They give the beggar the worst thing, if anything. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu put this broken
rice in His mouth and began to chew it. And Shuklambar bramhachari was almost unconscious,
‘But my Lord, this rice is unfit for you. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’ And Lord
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu just began to eat handful after handful after handful. With tears of
ecstatic loves in His eyes, He expressed, ‘I have never ever tasted anything so sweet as the
broken rice from the torn bag of Shuklambar brahmachari.’
And then He bestowed the blessing upon Shuklambar that ‘when you were in the form of
Sudama Vipra in the previous life, I as Krishna also ate your broken rice. I incarnate again and
again just to accept your broken rice. I bestow upon you this benediction that your heart will
always be dancing in ecstatic love of Krishna.’ And when the devotees heard this, they became
so happy. The greatest happiness of the devotee is to see another devotee getting special
mercy of the Lord. They all began to cry out ‘Hari Bol!’ Hari Bol! Hari Bol! It is explained that
anyone who hears this narration with a sincere and submissive heart will achieve pure love of
God; Krishna prema, because this story illustrates the essence of Krishna consciousness. In our
heart, we should always feel ourselves very ordinary, common beggars, although our service
may not be to be an ordinary beggar. (pause) I heard Govind prabhu sent the brahmacharis out
to become beggars just just to learn simplicity and humility.
So, perhaps, you are a common beggar in regard to your social service or you may be a preacher
or a sannyasi, or temple commander, president, manager, may be a big businessman or a
doctor, lawyer, housewife; you may be Prime Minister or a King; or Guru. Devotees can take
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any position that Krishna and Vaishnavas desire them to take but the essence of the service
is not the activities they perform, but the simplicity, the innocence, the humility in which
they perform their activity and however great or insignificant they may be, that is what gives
pleasure to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Krishna consciousness is the way in which all humanity can be united
So it is this message that His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada has so
mercifully given to us - Krishna consciousness. It is the way in which all humanity can be
united in the divine service of Krishna through dancing, through chanting and through
feasting. As long as this wonderful temple of Sri Radha Gopinath maintains these principles of
simplicity, innocence and humble spirit of servitude toward the Vaishnavas, as long as we
follow in the footsteps of Shuklambar bramhachari and other associates of Lord Chaitanya,
whatever our social position may be, than there is no power that Maya has to disturb even this
mission or any one of us individually. If we simply amongst amongst ourselves protect with
great caution, alertness, the simplicity of the relationship amongst us, the simplicity of our
dedication to Radharani and Sri Gopinathji, then this movement can only expand into the
hearts of more and more souls suffering in the web of maya.
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BECOME A PURE DEVOTEE
studying His scriptures, by keeping all our senses very purely immersed in His loving service,
by performing some Puja. Let our day begin with this and this alone. Nothing else should
be our priority. Nothing else should be our duty in the morning except our Sadhana, our
purification. When we associate with saintly persons, naturally the quality of our devotion
grows. When we associate with Krishna, through His devotees, through His name, through His
prasad, through His Deity, through His books, through His word, through that association,
naturally, pure devotion awakens from within our heart. So this is the process how to become a
pure devotee.
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Krishna can perform any type of miracle
We should be very strict in following the devotional principles, and by this wonderful and
auspicious opportunity we have, we can perform the greatest service in all of creation, by
attracting ourselves, as well as all of Bombay, all of India, all of World, all of the Universe, all of
the creation, through the congregational chanting of Krishna’s name. And do not think that this
is a dream that cannot be fulfilled. Because Krishna’s mercy, His power is inconceivable and
unlimited. And Krishna can perform any type of miracle through any of His devotees if they
simply cooperatively work together to spread the glories of the holy name.
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All devotees are of one category: the servant of Krishna's servants
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has delivered the world the most precious gift, Krishna prema,
Krishna bhakti in this dark age of Kali yuga. This age of Kali is the age where maya has the rule
over all the earth. Quarrel, uncontrolled senses, so many sinful activities provoked to the
influence of Kali all over the world. So Gauranga Mahaprabhu has come to bestow His mercy
to give everyone the chance of perfecting their lives in Krishna bhakti. Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu made so many wonderful arrangements through His own life and teachings to
inspire everyone to become the servant of Krishna. Even while He was living in Navadvipa,
once He called His devotees together and He told them, "Today we will all clean Krishna's
temple". Even the most respectable and honored of all the Vaisnavas Sri Advaita, Srivasa,
Shuklambhar, Murari, Jagadananda, Vasu Ghosh, Madhava Ghosh, Haridas, most respected
learned scholars, worshipable Brahmins, advanced devotees. But Mahaprabhu Himself with
broom in one hand and shovel in another began to lead them in cleaning the temples and He
was going place to place inviting everyone to come and help to clean the temple of Krishna,
sweeping, shoveling, washing. It was their greatest joy. The Supreme Personality of Godhead,
the Master Who is the possessor of all six opulences in full, in what other incarnation does He
take such a menial position of cleansing the dirt in temple of the Lord? In this way, He
exhibited how all devotees are of one category ultimately of being Krishna's servant, the
servant of Krishna's servants. The Supreme Personality Radha & Krishna; Advaita Acarya who
is also Sadashiv and also MahaVisnu; Srivas, the greatest of all devotees Narada, the guru of
such paramhansas, as Dhruva & Prahlad, they were all blissfully & joyfully together cleaning
the temple of Lord Hari. Such a wonderful, beautiful example for all of us.
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Cleaning the temple (heart) in association of devotees
This is the goal of our life. This is the aspiration of our hearts, to joyfully come together, with no
sense of importance for ourselves, just the sense of service. And in this way, they so blissfully
clean the temple of the Lord and they are so blissfully engaged in the Sankirtan of the holy
name of the Lord and the two are so closely interconnected. The devotees joyfully came
together for the pleasure of Krishna. Cleaning the temple and chanting and dancing in the
temple, they are both one process, which is being given by the Lord, the process of cleansing of
our hearts.
ceto darpanam marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam

sreyah-kairava-candrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam
anandanmbudhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamrtasvadanam
sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam
The heart is the temple of the Lord and this temple is not to be cleaned alone. But Mahaprabhu
taught that it should be cleaned joyfully in the association of sincere devotees, by menial
service, and by the chanting of the Holy names
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
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Come and join the sankirtan of the holy name
This (Hare Krsna Mahamantra) is the gift; this is the fortune that we so gratefully are receiving
in our lives. Although it is available to everyone, still so very few are willing to accept. People
are so preoccupied with trying to decorate their dying bodies with so many means; trying to
increase their prestige; prolong duration of their lives; enjoy their sense; build their empires,
which are crumbling moment by moment into dust. Therefore Mahaprabhu Himself would go
door to door, house to house, person to person and humbly appeal to kindly help to clean the
temple of the Lord, come and join the sankirtan of the holy name.
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Have the opportunity to assist in this most glorious mission
And we as His (Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's) servants, it is our divine obligation as well as
our greatest treasure to have the opportunity to assist in this most glorious mission. His
Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada made his life, the life of mercy,
distributing the mercy of Mahaprabhu, inviting everyone to accept the treasure of Krishna
prema by coming into the movement of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. And Srila Prabhupada very
specifically designed his presentation of Krishna consciousness so that the whole world could
have the opportunity to come and perfect their lives and this is our life & soul: to simply help
and assist those great servants of Srila Prabhupada to continue what he has so kindly given to
the world: to assist him in his divine offering at his lotus feet of Sri Guru & Gauranga.
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Boldly preach the glories of the Lord
Srila Prabhupada did not want us so concerned of our own personal liberation as he wanted us
concerned with pleasing Lord Chaitanya by pushing forward His great mission. So often we
hear Srila Prabhupada's lectures, he was defeating scientists, he was exposing mayavadis, he
was condemning material sense gratification, he was a bold preacher in the mood of Saraswati
Thakur. And for us knowing that this is the mission of Gurudev, these topics being pleasing to
him, are more vital & more transcendentally purifying than even the highest topics of Krishna
consciousness. Why?
yasya prasadad bhagavad prasado
yasya aprasadadad na gati kuto'pi
because by pleasing guru we please Krishna. And by pleasing Sri Radharani & Sri Krishna, we
should know that everything is included in that. This is the mood and direction which Srila
Prabhupada put our movement and we should have great faith that everything is included in
sincerely trying to purifying our own lives by performing attentive sadhana as he has
instructed, by humbly associating with devotees as he had instructed and in his mood to boldly
preach the glories of the Lord and invite everyone to come to the transcendental family of Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
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Teachings of Prabhupada's books can transform people's lives
And one of the great desires of Srila Prabhupada, cherished in his heart, was that these books
which Lord Sri Krishna has written directly through him, be distributed far and wide
throughout the world. But also he wanted the devotees to behave amongst each other as well as
within society in such a way that they were exemplary personifications of the teachings of his
books. The books are the basis but through preaching through our words and our examples and
our interrelationships he desired that we create a culture. A culture that revealed that the
teachings of his books could transform people's lives practically. And this is our life.
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REAL SURRENDER
The frustrations, the disappointments, the pains, the sufferings that come into our life is the
love of God upon us, to purify our hearts, to bring us closer to the real standard of selfless
service. We shouldn't react. When Krishna either does it through material nature or does it
through another devotee or another living being, we should not respond by throwing
thunderbolts upon Him. We should respond by bowing at the lotus feet in the presence of
Krishna's mercy and by surrendering. Ultimately surrender means to surrender that ego. You
can surrender all your material possessions, all your money. You can surrender your physical
form to do whatever you are asked, but it is all incomplete until we surrender our ego to
Krishna. And what does it mean to surrender our ego to Krishna? It means, "Krishna. You are
enjoyer. I am meant for your enjoyment." We are striving sincerely to be the servant of the
servant of the servant of our Guru and Sri Krishna. When Krishna sees our honest endeavor in
this way, by His Grace, He frees us. And He will make so many wonderful divine arrangements
to increase our sincerity, our humility, if we accept it with a grateful heart. There is no doubt
that Krishna will lift us beyond this realm of Maya into the eternal realm of loving service.
H.H. Radhanath Swami Maharaj
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Be a part of this divine mission
Our life is centered around Srila Prabhupada's books. By reading them, by distributing them, by
preaching from them, by living by them, we can attract the most intimate attention of Sri
Gauranga Mahaprabhu and our lives are perfect. So it is very pleasing to see how devotees have
made great endeavor in this book distribution program that is going on. It is pleasing because
we know it is what Guru Maharaj wants and we see how, when we make Gurudev's desire our
desire, we become blissful. We become empowered and the most congenial forms of spiritual
intimacy is created amongst ourselves. So all of us, whoever we may be, wherever we may be,
we can all be a part of this divine mission. This Krishna consciousness movement is designed
so that we are all extending ourselves for the sake of preaching, for the sake of helping others to
become better devotees and if we just work together in this way, so many wonderful things will
be manifested through our endeavors. This is Krishna's promise and this is the perfection of our
lives. Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.
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We are fortunate because of what the devotees are giving us
We should not forget how fortunate we are. We should never think that we are fortunate
because of who we are, but we should think that we are fortunate because of what the
devotees are giving us. That is our fortune. We should never be proud and think, 'Because I am
a devotee, I am very great'. We should never think that, 'Because I am a Vaisnava, I am superior
to everyone else'. We should think that, 'Because the devotees are so kind, that is my only
fortune'. It is not that we are fortunate in ourselves, but we are fortunate due to what we are
being given and if we stop taking it will become unfortunate. A devotee is never full in himself.
A devotee's fullness is eternally on the basis of how he or she is opening his or her heart to
receive Krishna, Who is coming so wonderfully through His devotees.
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Perfect your life in devotional service
This is a wonderful auspicious offering to Krishna. When Krishna plays on His flute, the Gopis
left everything immediately with no expectation of ever returning home. So as devotees, we
may not be Gopis, but we can worship their mood of surrender. Nothing came before pleasing
Krishna in their lives. And, of course, we know from the glorious teachings of Lord Chaitanya,
the most effective means of pleasing Krishna. Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself in the mood
of the devotee Who supremely understands how to please Krishna. Krishna appears with the
spirit of the love of Srimati Radharani, to teach all of us how to perfect our lives in devotional
service. And there is no greater authority in devotional service than the very treasure house of
all devotion Herself, Srimati Radharani. Devotional service is her own personal energy and
unless she blesses us with Her mercy, there is no possibility of anyone, anywhere of even
achieving one drop of devotional service. So Lord Chaitanya is Krishna combined with Srimati
Radharani, to give the purest treasure of devotion to everyone, and Lord Chaitanya taught us
the two religious principles which will attract devotion to our hearts - a) the congregational
chanting of the holy names of Krishna as well as the individual chanting of Krishna’s holy
names and (b) service to the Lord’s devotees.
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Serving the Lord’s devotees
There are two ways of serving the Lord’s devotees. One is, those who have already given their
lives to whatever extent to trying to follow the path of Krishna Consciousness. If they are
advanced devotees, we should worship them. How do we worship them? By submissively
hearing the words coming from their mouths and by following their instructions. Because their
words are Krishna’s words. And by serving them, trying to assist them and help them carry out
their orders, this is how we serve our Spiritual Master and the very advanced senior devotees.
To those who are equal with us in spiritual status, we serve them by becoming most intimate
loving friends, by confidentially revealing our hearts and confidentially hearing their hearts,
with a desire to encourage one another in devotional service. When we talk about revealing
one’s minds, it doesn’t mean dumping the garbage of your mind, just for the sake of dumping.
It means approaching a Vaishnava friend with a desire for spiritual advancement, with a desire
for spiritual help, with a desire to inspire one another and encourage and enliven another,
whether we are seeking help or giving help, it should always be with proper knowledge, that
the only real help is to bring one another closer to Krishna. And the only way we can be helped
is to somehow or another appeal to someone to bring us closer to Krishna. And for those
devotees who are just coming; to those who are newer to us in Krishna Consciousness, like an
older brother or sister, we should be trying to help them, to guide them, to encourage them to
overcome the natural obstacles that we had to overcome ourselves.
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Engage everyone in devotional service
And there is another class of devotees, who have forgotten altogether that they are devotees.
Sometimes, they are called karmis, sometimes jnanis, sometimes yogis, but due to not having
association of Krishna’s devotees, they are lost in the network of maya. So to them, we try to
somehow or the other give them Krishna Consciousness, by preaching to them our philosophy,
or by giving them one of Srila Prabhupada’s books, or by giving them the chance to hear the
Holy Names, or giving them a chance to give donation or somehow engage them in devotional
service, or give them prasad, but somehow or other connect their hearts and begin their
spiritual paths in their lives. So a devotee is always aspiring to chant the Holy Names and serve
the Vaishnavas. But in every stage a devotee is always das, servant, never master. We are never
meant to be the enjoyer but rather we are always meant to be enjoyed by Krishna.
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Real help is to bring a person to Krishna Consciousness
So similarly, materialistic sound vibrations are just calling the snake of death to come to devour
us. And yet we see, people who croak very nice melodious croaks and who have all sorts of
instrumentation to their croaking, and who have big sound systems to make it very loud; tens,
fifties, hundreds and thousands would pay all their money to come and listen to this croaking.
And not only does the snake come to eat the croaker, but it comes into the holes of the ears also.
This is modern civilisation. People are paying their hard-earned money to enjoy the path of
death. And Srimad Bhagavatam explains what is money, what is wealth, if it is not directly
used in the service of the Lord, it is only like putting a crown on a man who is already
drowning in the ocean. The more wealth you have, the heavier is your crown and deeper and
faster you sink into the illusions of false ego and material attachments. And how will you get
out?
Srimad Bhagavatam explains in so many ways that real help is to bring a person to Krishna
Consciousness. To somehow or other inspire a person to utilise his body, the mind, the senses,
the wealth, their abilities, their positions, their everything to their master, Mahaprabhu, to be
utlised in the service of the Lord. Actually if we die with one paisa that hasn’t been given to the
Lord, we will regret. We die knowing anything that has been left, our own possessions, will
keep us (away) from the spiritual world.
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Understand the science of Vaishnava etiquette very carefully
Everything should be utilised in the service of Lord. Death can come at any second and it will
come at any second. So real help, real friendship, real love is to help each other to be Krishna
Conscious. But in order to help each other to be Krishna Conscious, we have to understand the
science of Vaishnava etiquette very carefully. How devotees are kind and concerned for each
other? The body of a devotee is a sacred temple of God. Service to a Vaishnava means doing
anything we can to help to be in a strong position to serve Krishna. To help them with their
health. If they have some economic problem, if we have something, we should help them. We
should help them in every way so that they peacefully engage in devotional service. If a
person’s mind is confused, if the mind has doubts, if a person feels isolated from the spiritual
path, we should be right there as a compassionate friend to pick that person up. So Lord
Chaitanya explained that service to the vaishnavas and chanting of the holy names are two
principles of religion in this age of Kali.
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Chant Hare Krishna and be happy
The purpose of the Counselor system that has been pursued over the last few years, is simply to
give the maximum possible quality and care and service to every single devotee that comes
forward to take shelter of Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet. Anyone who takes a sincere interest in
the great mission of Srila Prabhupada should become our master. We should make them so
happy in Krishna Consciousness that they will never ever want to leave for any of the illusions
of this world. What is the greatest preaching in all the universe? A happy devotee. I can sit on
this little seat and speak so much philosophy. But if people listen and they do not see devotees
happy, how much will it actually influence their hearts. Everyone within the world is looking
for happiness. The immortal search of the soul is for pleasure. And Srila Prabhupada told us to
chant Hare Krishna and be happy. He never told us to chant Hare Krishna and suffer.
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A world of suffering
Suffering is everywhere, anyway in this material world. You are going to suffer whether you
are a devotee or not. But if you are actually taking to the process of Krishna Consciousness, you
gradually come to the platform where you transcend the sufferings. Don’t be under the illusion
that sufferings go away in this material world. Krishna has officially certified dukhalaya
asasvatam. That means this is a world of suffering. Whatever you do, you can be the Prime
Minister or you can be the pauper in the street. You can be triple PhD or you can be illiterate.
You can have million crores in your bank account or you could not even have food for the day.
You can be the healthiest athlete; the champion cricket player of India or you can be old and
invalid. Whatever you have or don’t have, in the material world, you must suffer. If not today,
tomorrow.
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Devotee is sacred
When you become Krishna Conscious, don’t be under the illusion that "Now I will become
materially happy." Because material and happiness are two words that don’t go together. It is
like being dry in the ocean. Like jumping in the lake and being dry. Is it possible? It is more
possible to jump in the bottom of the lake and be dry than to live in the material world and
actually be happy. So by chanting Hare Krishna we don’t stop the miseries, but transcend the
misery. They actually achieve the spiritual atmosphere of consciousness which is above
material misconceptions which is the cause of all suffering. But some foolish people think that if
my material life changes that will be very nice. Impossible!! Maybe temporarily, but not in
reality. In Krishna Consciousness, we want to come out of the material platform onto the
spiritual platform where we have to strive for that. We have to help each other for that. And
therefore, we should see that a devotee is sacred, and the devotee should be cared for. Just as
we care for our own children, we should try to extend that care for every Vaishnava. And to the
degree we do that, Krishna is extraordinarily pleased with our service.
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It is time to boil the milk
This Counselor system is being developed for this reason. To make every possible intelligent
effort to help every single devotee on every level of that devotee’s life physically, socially,
philosophically, spiritually, we should support it, we should help each other and more and
more. The devotees who are taking this wonderful responsibility of Counselors are trying to
help each other to better help the Vaishnavas. And the hope is that everyone is being helped to
learn the process of helping each other. And in this way the Krishna Consciousness will not
only expand in quantity but it will expand in quality.
Actually at one time, our Guru Maharaj, Srila Prabhupada said, "We have distributed millions
and millions and millions of books, we have made so many thousands of devotees, we have
opened so many centers, at one time, he said, "now it is time to boil the milk." Boil the milk
means condense it and make it of the utmost quality and sweetness. He wanted the book
distribution to go on, he wanted the preaching to go on, but he especially emphasised "We have
to improve the quality of every single devotee who has come to this movement so that they
actually become pure devotees." And for that, there has to be a whole social system, to help the
qualitative improvement of the devotees’ life and a devotee’s family life.
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Bringing people together in such a nice way
Srila Prabhupada explained that the first part of his mission is to establish and to expand. And
the second part of his mission, which he said, was that he wanted his devotees to establish the
Varnashram dharma. And Varnashrama dharma in essence is a social system by which every
single devotee is engaged according to that person’s propensity and is encouraged and happy
in Krishna Consciousness. That is Varnashrama dharma. So this wonderful system that we are
trying to develop and improve day by day is for this: to actually create a social atmosphere
where every devotee is cared for and happy in Krishna Consciousness. And if people come and
see happy devotees, they will think "This is the movement that I want to be a part of. If this
philosophy of Krishna Consciousness, if this prasad, if this kirtan, is bringing people together
in such a nice way, where there is so much love and trust amongst them, and they are so happy
together, this is what I want." What greater preaching is that!
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Humble ourselves to serve each other
The age of Kali yuga is the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. People cannot get along very much. If
they do, then there are always so many conditions to their getting along. But the devotees, for
the higher principles of pleasing devotee, pleasing Krishna, humble themselves to serve each
other, to care for each other, to sacrifice themselves to uplift the devotees and to expand the
qualities of the preaching of Lord Chaitanya’s mission by which the people will be attracted.
And more than the people outside being attracted, the devotees themselves will be attracted to
never leave. If a devotee is happy in Krishna Consciousness, he will never leave the path of
perfection.
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A practical life-style by which we can realize
As we become more purified then the process of hearing and chanting of the glories of the Lord,
we see Krishna everywhere, Krishna reveal Himself to us. To see Krishna in everything and
everywhere, that is the perfection that we are seeking. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has come to
give us this wonderful way of life. There is a theory based on the deepest and the greatest
philosophy. But this is also a practical life-style by which we can realize this theory. Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself appeared in the form of a devotee, He appeared to teach us
what is the perfection of life, how to remember Krishna. Of course, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the mood of His pleasure potency of Srimati
Radharani to demonstrate the extent of spiritual ecstasy through remembrance of Krishna can
inundate the soul with pleasure.
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I have all my opulences in full
Krsna is Srimad Bhagavatam a wonderful Person He describes: the reason why I am

Supremely worshippable by all the worlds, the reason why I have all my opulences in full is
because I serve and worship the feet of My devotees because of their blessings I am
worshippable.
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Heart is the seed of love
Heart is the seed of love of devotion and all the great philosophies of the world are ultimately
meant to bring us to the platform of love. Krishna explains loving Him with all our hearts.
Krishna says in the Gita, I am the source of all the spiritual and material worlds and everything
emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly worship Me with all their hearts. Because
the heart is the seat of consciousness. To love Krishna means to surrender our consciousness to
Krishna. To offer our consciousness to Krishna.
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Devotee is sacred
When you become Krishna Conscious, don’t be under the illusion that "Now I will become
materially happy." Because material and happiness are two words that don’t go together. It is
like being dry in the ocean. Like jumping in the lake and being dry. Is it possible? It is more
possible to jump in the bottom of the lake and be dry than to live in the material world and
actually be happy. So by chanting Hare Krishna we don’t stop the miseries, but transcend the
misery. They actually achieve the spiritual atmosphere of consciousness which is above
material misconceptions which is the cause of all suffering. But some foolish people think that if
my material life changes that will be very nice. Impossible!! Maybe temporarily, but not in
reality. In Krishna Consciousness, we want to come out of the material platform onto the
spiritual platform where we have to strive for that. We have to help each other for that. And
therefore, we should see that a devotee is sacred, and the devotee should be cared for. Just as
we care for our own children, we should try to extend that care for every Vaishnava. And to the
degree we do that, Krishna is extraordinarily pleased with our service.
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Compassion of Prabhupada
'I remember one time Shrila Prabhupada came to visit our temple and all the devotees were
performing Guru-puja to Prabhupada. So Prabhupada was sitting there and he noticed one of
his disciples limping. Even while the Guru-puja was going on, Prabhupada called him and
asked the disciple what was wrong. The disciple told him about how he had injured his foot.
Prabhupada was so concerned, he asked "why haven't you got treatment for it, why haven't you
seen the doctor? If you have no money to see doctor, I'll pay for you, but you must look after
your health." That's what it means to be a spiritual master. Even while all his disciples were
glorifying him, Prabhupada was only concerned with looking after his disciples, making sure
they were not experiencing difficulties in their spiritual life, which included their physical
health.'
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Training in Krishna Consciousness
Bramhacharis should be trained to be first class bramhacharis according to the shastric

recommendations. And Grihasthas should be systematically, carefully and thoroughly trained
to be Grihasthas. If you are not a Grihastha, trained to be a Grihastha, then you are a Griha
medhi. Is your house an ashram where Krishna is the center of everything, or is your house a
deep dark well? So Grihastas need to be trained. What is the duty of a wife to the husband?
What is the duty of the husband to the wife? What is the duties of the mother and father to the
children? What is your duty to your parents. How to balance spiritual life and occupational
responsibilities? How to balance your spiritual life with your social obligations? How to remain
pure in controlling your senses? How to maintain very very strict pure vows of sadhana? How
to overcome the problems that naturally come to all of us? In so many ways, each Grihastha
must be very very carefully trained to follow Krishna Consciousness in their ashram and then
their whole family will be happy. And their example will be a tremendous inspiration to give
light to the people of the world.
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Create a very strong and attractive foundation
So this kind of encouragement, friendship and training is the responsibility of each Counselor.
And the counselles should accept the good fortune with a grateful heart and want to learn,
want to be trained properly, want to be educated in the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness.
And in the social life of a Vaishnava these things are so important. And the counsellees should
try to share whatever their responsibilities with each other and with all other Vaishnavas and
with the world. I personally believe that this project is one of the most important projects in all
of creation - this simple little Counsellor system, because it can create a very strong and
attractive foundation within the Hare Krishna movement. Because our movement is not simply
just to attract people to stay in the movement for a few years and then evaporate into the
ethereal atmosphere of maya. It should be the goal of every leader that when a person come to
sincerely take to Krishna Consciousness, we must think, "What do I require to do to help this
person to remain a devotee throughout his or her entire life?" Not just get as much as service as
we can today and let Krishna take care of the rest. We are Krishna’s representatives. We are
responsible on behalf of Guru and Krishna that this person will never ever ever leave this
movement until he dies. Then they don’t leave the movement. Then they go back to the head
quarters of the Hare Krishna movement which is Goloka Vrindavan where it all begins.
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Don't be proud of it
belongs to guru and Krishna. And it is all meant to be utilised in their service. If we think that
"I am good devotee", that is false prestige. We should think that "I am nothing but guru Maharaj
can and utilize it for the service of guru and Krishna.
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Krsna Consciousness is a lifetime mission
This should be our thinking and as the servant of the servant of the servant, each of us, if you
are a Counsellor, if you are a Guru, if you are a GBC, if you are a President, or if are just a new
bhakta or bhaktin, whatever it may be, it is the responsibility of every single one of us to help
each other that we never ever ever leave the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu, because Krishna Consciousness is a lifetime process. To go back home back to
Godhead, you have to practice, strictly and sincerely, until the day you die and go back to
Godhead. This is not a movement that is just like a college where you are in this movement for
four years and you graduate, then you go back into the material world. It is a lifetime mission.
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Surrender or be Destroyed
'Sometimes, the transcendental anger of the Lord is invoked just like in the Ramayana. When
Lord Rama humbly requested the deity of the Ocean to make a path for Him to get to Lanka, he
didn't respond. This is just like all of us. The Lord is simply requesting that we surrender to His
lotus feet, but still we think we are unable to, because we have too many responsibilities,
family, work etc. Similarly, just imagine how many responsibilities the Ocean Deity has. He's
responsible for billions of living entities that live in the ocean, but still his reasons were
insufficient. So after a long, long time, the Ocean Deity failed to respond to Lord Rama, and this
invoked His transcendental anger. With his bow, He threatened the Ocean to make a path or be
destroyed. Of course, the anger of the Lord is so powerful that the entire ocean was heated
up. So finally the Ocean Deity humbled himself before Lord Ramachandra and surrendered to
Him. Our choice is similarly simple - 'Surrender or be destroyed'. Unfortunately, over millions
of lives we have kept choosing the option to be destroyed, which is why we have repeatedly
gone on experiencing destruction in the form of repeated birth and death. We simply have to
make that right decision to surrender.'
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Krishna Consciousness is so pure; it is so complete, so comprehensive and inclusive
The greatest compassion is to keep the devotees strong in Krishna Consciousness throughout
his or her whole life. We should think in terms of thirty years for each devotee, not just today.
And Krishna Consciousness is so pure; it is so complete, so comprehensive and inclusive. There
is no greater philosophy. No one leaves this movement because they find a better philosophy,
or a better religion or a better math. Never. It is not possible. And Krishna is all attractive. There
is no higher, more beautiful conception of God than Sri Sri Radha Gopinath. People do not
leave this movement because they find a better God. And the Hare Krishna maha mantra is the
Mahamantra. People do not leave this movement because they have found a better mantra.
People leave this movement because either they are spiritually weak and there may be so many
social, philosophical excuses to leave to protect their ego. But either they are weak and want to
enjoy sinful activities or because they have made so many apradhas to other Vaishnavas that
Krishna is kicking them away or because they are simply unhappy. They are not socially and
personally encouraged and supported. So they are trying to go somewhere else to find social
and personal support to a psychiatrist or to a psychologist or to some materialist counsellor or
to a society of people who say, “You are alright. I am alright. So let us embrace and be happy.”
People will leave this movement if they don’t find personally satisfying relationships. So if we
want to keep devotees within this movement, we have to teach them how to perform their
sadhana properly and they will be spiritually strong. But in order for them to maintain it, they
need loving, trusting relationships amongst each other.
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Pleasing the Lord and His devotees
It is said in the Srimad Bhagvatam, that whatever we do in our spiritual life, the only goal, the
only purpose would be to please the Lord. If the Lord is not pleased; even if we perform the
greatest most wonderful acts in the eyes of men, even if our fasting, our tapasya, our sweet
kirtana, our magnificent lectures, whatever we may offer to Him, if it is not pleasing to Him
and His pure devotees, it is of no value. We make no spiritual advancement. Therefore in this
mood, a devotee feels himself very humble, insignificant and useless because the devotee
understands that with whatever powers and abilities he has, he is utterly helpless to make any
advancement in devotional service, it is all exclusively depending on the mercy of the sadhus
and the mercy of the supreme personality of Godhead.
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The impression of what we do is influencing our consciousness and our whole life
When Prahlad Maharaj was asked by his friends, ‘why are you telling us to follow the path of
Bhagawat Dharma, we are children; you should not preach such high philosophy to children.
Children means we should study and play. We go to school, we study then we go and play
with our friends and eat, that's all’. (Maharaj asks the children.) They will not agree in this
assembly of so many people. When they leave the room they may agree. Play is good but it
should help to remember Krishna. Prahlad Maharaj told his friends that the earlier you start
your spiritual life; the better. Prahlad Maharaj was speaking to his friends who were only Five
years old. Priyavrat! How old are you? Nine, Eight, Thirteen. Compared to Prahlad's friends,
you are an old man, grand old man. When you are Five years old and you see a boy of Thirteen
you say O God! He is so big. Prahlad told them, “Five Years! It is already getting late. Now is
the time because death can come at any moment." But even if death does not come for
sometime the impression of what we do is influencing our consciousness and our whole life.
Some of the elder gentlemen and ladies who come to Krishna consciousness later in their life
think, ‘what have I done in my life. I have to undo whatever I have done in my life. I have to
remove all the garbage that I have collected in my mind, I have to somehow empty it, why did I
not keep it empty and fill it with Krishna by chanting the holy name, "Hare Krishna Hare
Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Hare Hare.'
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Hearing the glories of the Lord and His devotees
Krishna tells us in the Srimad Bhagvatam, it is spoken by Suta Gosvami, “srinvatam svakatham
krishna......punya shravan kirtana….That one who take pleasure in hearing the glories of the Lord
and the devotees, such a person, through this process, pleases the Lord to such an extent that
the Lord within the heart dispels all the darkness, all the ignorance, all the material bondage
from within. This means one is non-envious. An envious person does not like to hear the glories
of someone else. And envious person likes to hear the glories of himself. But one who is not
envious, who with a sincere hearts genuinely takes pleasure in hearing the glories of the Lord
and His devotees, such a person wins the heart of Krishna and through this process Krishna,
from within you, He purifies you of all your bondage to material attachment. Anartha nirviti-
the first thing we have to do in order to take pleasure is, hearing the glories of the Lord and His
devotees.
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Take Pleasure in hearing the glories of the Lord and His devotees
So please try to understand that there are yogis who living in the Himalayas, they are
performing such tapasya. Recently some of our devotees went to Goumukha, the source of
mother Ganges, far above Gangotri in the highest peaks of the Himalayas and we found there
that even in the midst of the summer months, there is snow and ice, all around. And even in the
summer the water as it is coming out of this holy glacier, it is more cold than ice. In fact gigantic
chunks of ice are constantly just rowing by the rapid waves of the Ganges and we have seen
Yogis who live there throughout the year even in the winter months, bathing three times in a
day in the Ganges. Performing severe tapasya. I don’t know what there is to even eat in that
place in the winter. All for the purpose for attaining higher realization of the absolute truth,
bhagvan. And there are others who are in the process of jnana yoga, who observe complete
celibacy complete detachment from any of the objects of the senses. Tremendous sacrifice. They
sometimes spend eighteen hours a day studying the scriptures just trying to get deeper and
deeper insights into what is the matter and what is spirit. There are other yogis who live in
caves with venomous snakes with leopards, lions, tigers, and monkeys all around, scorpions, no
ventilation. Dark in the jungle through the process of fasting they imitiate their bodies, they sit
in meditation fixing their mind on one object in total concentration not moving their body,
enduring all the pains and tribulations of the mind and senses, and the natural elements just to
try to come closer to that state of liberation. Although such processes are very difficult, almost
impossible, for the common man; factually an innocent house wife who takes pleasure in
hearing the glories of the Lord and the devotees of the Lord makes more spiritual advancement
than all of these sadhus and yogis because the Lord takes greater pleasure in seeing you taking,
hearing His glories and especially hearing the glories of His devotees. Therefore smaranam
kirtanam...... Govindadas prays let me always engage my mind in the nine processes of
devotional service of which first and foremost is hearing the glories of the Lord and chanting
those glories.
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Devotee is always aspiring to be dasa dasa anudas
Krsna says, ‘Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru- Always think of Me,
worship Me, offer your homage unto Me. In this way Krishna says you will come to Me without
fail. I promise this because you are my dear friend’. So this is the love of Krishna for His
devotee. That anyone who loves His devotees is loved by Krishna. Anyone who takes joy in
glorifying His devotees more than anyone else is loved by Krishna. Krishna tells Arjuna in the
Bhagavat Gita, that you can understand this message because you are non envious of Me.
Because you are non-envious. An envious man cannot tolerate hearing the glories of others, but
the non-envious man takes great pleasure in hearing the glories of Krishna’s devotees and this
is why it is so important to adopt this mentality that we are the insignificant servant of the
vaisnavas. Because as soon as we consider ourselves to be one of any importance in spiritual
life, then what happens is, we cannot tolerate anyone stepping in front of us. Especially in the
eyes and ears of others, to the degree we give importance to ourselves, to that degree we
become envious of others who may compete upon our spiritual position. Therefore the devotee
is aspiring dasa dasa anudas- to be the most insignificant infinitesimal atomic servant and
atomic particle of the dust of the feet of all the other vaishnavas. That is what is means to be the
servant of the servant of the servant, aspiring for this position and when we are in this position
then we take the greatest pleasure in hearing other devotee’s glorified, in hearing other
devotees praised with words of glorification.
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Lord Chaitanya’s pastimes
Lord Caitanya was walking along the Jagannatha temple, and He saw the ocean, and when He
saw the ocean He immediately thought of river Yamuna. And as He just jumped into the
ocean, and then He was no longer in external consciousness, He went into the state of internal
consciousness, and He started floating in the water, just as a piece of wood and sometimes He
would go under the water. And sometimes He would come above the water and He went
further and further away from the Komnar temple and the devotees couldn't understand,
where did He go? He ran so fast, that He just disappeared into the ocean and nobody saw
where He went. They went to the Jagannatha temple, they went to the Gundica temple, they
went searching all night. Finally the day came, they were in so much distress, and felt that the
Lord has left us. Ultimately they were walking by the beach, and Svarupa Damodara happened
to see a fisherman and this fisherman was first laughing and dancing like a mad man, and was
chanting the holy name, Hari Hari! Svarupa Damodara thought, he must have seen the Lord.
Svarupa Damodara then asked him, what is the reason for your condition? The fisherman said
that I was fishing in my boat and in my net I caught a dead corpse. Because as soon as I touched
him to take him out of the net, a ghost came out of the corpse and made me mad. As soon as I
touched the body, my limbs began to tremble, my body began to shiver, my hairs started to
stand on end and I began to dance. He said, I am a fisherman and my occupation is to kill fish
in a solitary place and to protect myself from danger. I always chant the Nrsimha mantra. It
has kept the ghosts and dangers away. But this ghost is so powerful. Every time I chant the
Nrsimha mantra these experiences of weeping dancing and chanting of Hari doubles and
doubles whenever I chant this mantra. He said that this corpse, the body is very long and all
the joints are disticated and there are many many inches of just flesh between each side of joint,
arms, legs elongated. And this corpse has such a ghost in it. Even though he is lying there with
half open eyes, he makes the sound gong-gong. And Svarup Damodar said can you take me to
this corpse. The fisherman said no it’s too dangerous, if you look at this corpse the ghost will
enter your body and will make you a mad man. Look at me, I have gone mad. I am now looking
for exorcist - one who takes ghosts out of a body. Svarup Damodara Goswami said, “I am an
exorcist ", and he took his hand on the fisherman’s head and he began to chant the mantras and
after chanting the mantras he slapped the fisherman three times. He said, “Now there is no
need to fear, there is no ghost. Actually what you consider ghost is actually Lord Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu". And the fisherman said, "I have seen Lord Chaitanya, but He does not look
anything like this", and Svarup Damodar Goswami said that, “you have to understand that
this is what His body becomes like when He falls into such ecstatic love. But what you
consider crazy madness is actually love of god, for anyone who touches the body of
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu becomes inundated in the perfection of life of pure unalloyed love
for Krishna and now you are experiencing the ecstasies the world wants to experience. So
please take me to the lord." The fisherman took them and there they saw the Lord's body
elongated, fully covered with sand. And the devotees upon seeing the Lord became shocked
and they chanted the holy name very loudly. "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna
Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare." But still the Lord did not respond,
He was absorbed in such an intimate stage of trance that they had to continue the chanting even
louder, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama
Rama Hare Hare." And after sometime, the Lord came out of His trance and His body became
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normal and He asked, “Why did you bring me here? I was with Krishna, with Srimati
Radharani. The gopis and I was on the bank of the Yamuna and was watching the wonderful
pastimes in the river Yamuna laughing and splashing water with one another and I was serving
them in this way and now you have made loud noises and you have taken me from Vrindavana
and brought me in this place. Why have you done this? Where am I?” In this way Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu personally exhibited to the world the most exalted way of love of God, which
cannot be imitated by anyone. But He has also come to give entrance to the room of God. Srila
Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami explains that anyone who hears the pastimes of the Lord's love
will develop the love of god. So this is the mercy that Srila Rupa Goswami has given us with
beautiful verses. Srila Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has come to give us that no other incarnation has
ever given-the love of Vrindavan. He has come in this Kali-Yuga to teach us how to bring our
consciousness to our original state.
During the final years of Lord Caitanya’s life, in the Gambhira, His residence in the Puri dhama,
near the Jagannatha temple, He would spend most of His time in the association of His most
loving and intimate devotees such as Ramananda Raya, Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, His
servant Govinda. And sometimes Lord Caitanya was so restless in the ecstatic love, they would
sometimes close the door of His room so that He wouldn't endanger His body. So one time, all
the three doors of His room were locked and Govinda was lying just outside in the doorway,
but somehow or the other, nobody knows how, it happened. How He got out of the room
without even opening the doors? Krishna can do anything and what happened is that He just
began to hear from His heart, Krishna's beautiful sound vibration and He wanted to find
Krishna in the cows. So just near the Jagannatha temple there was a stall, a Go-shala, where the
cows were kept and He ran to the cows in the ecstasy of remembering Krishna and He just,
went into such a state that no one has ever seen, nor anyone will see it again. The prema of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His ecstatic love, He just became unconscious. When Govinda heard
there is no sound from the room in the Gambhira, he went to look and Ramananda Raya,
Svarupa Damodara, they all began to search for Lord Caitanya here and there, and ultimately
they came to the place of Thailanga cows, and there they saw Gauranga Mahaprabhu. In his
love of God, He was lying there in an unconscious state, unconscious state means externally
unconscious, but internally in such ecstatic love for Krishna that His limbs, arms and legs
retracted and went into His trunk just like a tortoise withdraws his limbs into the shell. He was
lying there. Shri Krishnadas Kaviraja Gosvami, says, "He looked like a big pumpkin, there were
no legs, no arms, His mouth was foaming, tears were flowing from His eyes." Whatever was
seen of His body were lungs, with repellation and the cows were slipping (licking) the body
finding great pleasure. The devotees were trying to take away the cows from Lord Caitanya but
the cows were so much attracted that they were just smelling and associating with the body. So
ultimately they had to somehow carry His body and took it to His residence. And they began to
very loudly chant the Holy Names of Krishna: "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna
Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare." And they were chanting and
chanting for a very long time and ultimately somehow the Lord heard the chanting, and it went
to His inner heart and He came to His external consciousness and thus all His limbs came out
and He began to chant with His devotees. And He said why have you taken Me here? Why
have you made this loud noise? And He explained how He was in the pasture grounds with
Krishna, the gopas and the gopis, playing the flute and dancing together and joking together
with the cows. He said, "I was in the external land of Vrindavana. Why did you being Me here
with your loud chanting?" In this way Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally exhibited to the
world the most exalted way of love of God, which cannot be imitated by anyone. But He has
also come to give entrance to the room of God. Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami explains that
anyone who hears the pastimes of the Lord's love will develop the love of god. So this is the
mercy that Srila Rupa Goswami has given us with beautiful verses. Srila Chaitanya
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Mahaprabhu has come to give us that no other incarnation has ever given-the love of
Vrindavan. He has come in this Kali-Yuga to teach us how to bring our consciousness to our
original state.
Who is most beloved by the Lord
Prahlad Maharaja is the most exalted of all vaisnavas because he had accepted this humble
position. He was able in every circumstance of his life to cry out for the mercy of Krishna and
His devotees and therefore he became most dear to the Lord. And anyone, who love the Lord,
the Lord’s devotees, is loved by Krishna. Even in English it is said love me love my dog,
because in English, in the English speaking world dog is man’s best friend. You have heard this
saying, in Bhagavad Gita Krishna says, know Me to be the best friend of your heart. But in the
English American system it does not say that God is your best friend, but it says dog is man’s
best friend. And of course God spelt backward in reverse is “DOG”. So the fact that they are
thinking that dog is man’s best friend means that we have the exact reverse mentality of those
who are spiritually inclined and accept God as man’s best friend. Prabhupada used to say,
anyone who considers himself as God is a Dog. And everyone considers himself as God. So
everyone is dog. And dog is man’s best friend. So what does that mean? That means everyone is
completely envious of God but is said love me, love my dog. In other words if you love my
best friend that’s the best way you can show your love to me. Of course Bhaktivinoda Thakur
does say that Krishna, Krishna I am like a dog. Just following behind you. The one quality of a
dog that is very much respected is his loyalty to his master. So a devotee is sometimes
considered to be like Krishna’s dog because he is simply following behind Krishna, chanting
Krishna, Krishna. So one who loves Krishna’s dog is loved by Krishna. One who loves to hear
the glories of those persons who are loyal to the Lord, that person is most beloved by the Lord,
and this is the benediction that Lord Narahari has given.
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The standard of our search for happiness
Srila Prabhupada is describing here how when one sometimes comes to this platform of making
the prominence in his life, seeking happiness and pleasure in hearing the glories of the Lord
rather than in satisfying the senses, then one becomes completely indifferent to the happiness
and distress of this material existence because he is no longer looking for pleasure in the things
of this material existence. Nastha prayesu abhadresu nityam bhagvati sevaya- it is said one who
daily takes pleasure in hearing the Srimad Bhagvatam, which is the story of the Lord and His
devotees and who daily engages in the service of the person Bhagvatam, to such a person
Krishna reveals everything form within the heart. So this must be the standard of our search for
happiness.
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Learn how to associate with one another
In this world the propensity for enjoyment is very strongly situated within us. It is impossible
for a neophyte devotee to simply give up looking for pleasure because we are pleasure seeking
by nature. But we do have the power if we are sincere to seek out pleasure not in our own
selfish glorification, not in our own sensual pleasures but in hearing the glories of the Lord and
His devotees. Therefore when devotees come together it is described in the third canto yatra
gayante mat-bhaktam - which means the devotees when they come together, they do not
discuss sense gratification, they do not discuss worldly topics which are directly or indirectly
only meant for sense gratification, but they come together to give each other the pleasure of
hearing the glories of the Lord and His devotees. Therefore in the process of coming above the
neophyte stage, of devotional service it is most essential that we learn how to associate with
one another. You see the tendency is in the association of devotees to talk nonsense, to speak
about one’s glories or to speak about just completely irrelevant subject matter, which has
nothing to do with Krishna’s glories. This is the tendency of the tongue, the fastidious
uncontrolled tongue. Therefore the devotees of the Lord must learn how to associate with on
another correctly. That means that when we come together, we come together like this morning
to hear the glories of the Lord and His devotees, to engage in the holy kirtan of the Lord, where
we are glorifying the Lord and His devotees. And if we can simply do this, very soon we will
attain pure devotional service.
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A very simple process
If we can simply keep this sacred principle (hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord and
His devotees) as the unifying force amongst us then very soon we will understand the kingdom
of God within our own hearts. But if we cannot, if we will not agree to sanctify pure association
by keeping the glorification of the Lord and His devotees between us, then we will do so many
tapasya, so many great services but there will always be something gravely lacking within our
hearts. So let us take this benediction of Lord Nrsimhadeva upon our heads into our hearts, let
us take this benediction of Nrsimhadeva as His causeless mercy and accept this benediction as
our life and soul. This benediction is that anyone who takes pleasure in hearing the glories of
such great souls as Prahlad and the Lord, in the course time, will become free from all material
reactions and will attain pure devotional service. This is very simple; it is a very simple process.
We can speak of all sorts of very eloquent philosophy but if we forget this principle, our
spiritual life is lost because factually all our philosophy, all our logic, all our arguments is only
meant to bring us to that point of learning how to hear and chant the glories and names of
Krishna, that’s all. Let us not miss the point; what we are speaking of this morning is the
essence of spiritual life.
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Always hear, glorify and remember Krishna
In this world everybody is hankering for what we don't have and lamenting for what we lose.
But a devotee becomes 'Prasanna Atma' because by chanting Hare Krishna and by following the
principles of Krishna Consciousness, the joyful nature of the soul is awakened, and what is that
nature: to always hear, glorify and remember Krishna. So this is what all our life is about, to
accept the gift of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and in the association of devotees these are the
only activities that should go on: Hearing about Krishna, chanting and remembering Krishna.
In fact Srila Prabhupada has given us the way of life that we can naturally remember Krishna.
When we come to the temple, every thing is meant for this purpose. We see the deity and the
deity is non-different from Krishna. When we see the deity, we remember Krishna, when we
see the devotees, we remember Krishna and when we always remember Krishna we transcend
the three modes of material nature and the ghost of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu comes into
our life-and that is our longing.
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Krishna manifests Himself through the sound vibration
Vidura was a great devotee and an associate of Krishna Himself, who was very eager to hear
about Krishna. And Srila Prabhupada explains this is the perfect atmosphere where Krishna
manifests when there is an audience of persons who are sincerely eager to hear, that will
naturally inspire the speaker to speak and in that combination of an eager audience and an
inspired speaker, Krishna manifests Himself through the sound vibration and in this way gives
full satisfaction to everyone involved.
235
The fundamental knowledge
It is described in the Srimad Bhagavatam that after the battle of Kurukshetra, Yudhistira
Maharaja was feeling very despondent. He was already coronated as King but he was thinking
that so many people died because of him and he was thinking that there was nothing in the
world he could do for his sinful activities. This is the nature of a humble devotee. Materialistic
person is always anxious to give blame to others and never take blame for himself. We never
want to admit our fault; we are covered by so many faults. I think we all have this experience,
“Yes, No??". When we do something nice we want credit. When someone else does something
nice, we want that credit also. When someone does something wrong, we like to give them
blame and when we do something wrong, we like to give someone else the blame. Sometimes
you are like this, “Yes." That is the nature of human mind and ego. But Yudhistara, a great
devotee, is just the opposite, whatever great thing he did, he gave all credit to Krishna. He
understood that nothing could be done without the grace of Krishna. Without the grace of
Krishna Bhagavan, we cannot speak, we cannot move, we cannot breathe. Foolish people take
credit for their activities, but those who understand the truth are always grateful to Krishna.
That is fundamental knowledge.
236
Process of Kirtan is actually the life in the spiritual world
Let the mercy of Lord enter our hearts and make us mad: mad with Lords name, chant His
glories and dance. Srila Prabhupada explains one who chants the Mahamantra sincerely, his
inclination is to dance. Why? -Because when the soul begins to dance in jubilation in the name
of the Lord, naturally the body wants to dance and this process of chanting and dancing is just
what Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given us. In the spiritual world, there is no talking-
there is only chanting. And every sound is a song, also there is no rocking, there is only
dancing. This is Vrindavan. ‘Brahma-Samhita' explains, “where every step is dance and every
sound is a song and constant companion is Krishna." Srila Prabhupada explains the process of
Kirtan is actually the life in the spiritual world. What Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has done
through Harman Sankirtan Movement is that He has given us entry into the spiritual world by
chanting, dancing and feasting.
237
Take a path of devotion
What can you do without the help of God? We have not created our eyes or our tongue or our
ears or our hands or our brains or our heart. We have not created the sun and the rain and the
air that maintain us. We have simply taken the gifts of God, and taking ability that God has
given us and then we take the credit for ourselves. Krishna explains in Gita, sarva loka
mahesvaram- that He is the proprietor of everything, and ultimately He is doer of everything.
We have the choice, whether we want to do it as a loving exchange to the Supreme or as a
service to our illusion? So we take a path of devotion, we actually live honestly.
238
Supreme most religion, supreme occupation, the most supreme duty of a man
Just like Srila Prabhupada was very grave and silent and when his disciple asked, "Prabhupada
what are you thinking about?" Prabhupada replied, "I am meditating on what is in Krishna's
lunch-box." This is the activities in the spiritual world. Actually this is the most profound
meditation, the ultimate conclusion of all philosophy, to have a simple and loving heart to
remember Krishna. What did Mother Yashoda put in Krishna's lunch-box today? That was
what Prabhupada was meditating about. So Lord Caitanya has given us life in the spiritual
world, whenever the devotees are chanting and dancing together, factually they are in the
spiritual world. Whenever they are chanting the Mahamantra the names of Radha and
Krishna they are factually in Vrindavan. But the problem is sometimes mind goes somewhere
else, and we don't realize the ecstatic situation we have been given but by gradually chanting,
dancing and feasting, we will realize the ultimate supreme gift that Prabhupada and previous
Acharyas have give us. So Srila Prabhupada said, Chant Hare Krishna and be happy. Maharaj
Parikshit has been explained here that this is the supreme most religion, supreme occupation
most supreme duty of a man who is about to die: To glorify and to hear about Krishna and to
remember Krishna. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare
Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
239
Lord is perfect and satisfied in Himself
The Supreme Personality of Godhead Nara-Narayana rishis, they performed great, great
austerities in the holy land Badrik ashram in the eight high peaks of the Himalayas. And the
austerities they were performing were so severe, in fact the Lord was displaying His own
opulence of renunciation which cannot be possibly be imitated by any mortal or infinitesimal
jiva of this world. Indra became very fearful. Materialistic people naturally, they are always
thinking that everyone thinks like themselves. The world is a mirror of ones own mind.
Wherever we look we see our own consciousness. So he was thinking, “I am so attached to this
beautiful heavenly abode of Swargaloka & I have performed such tapasya to attain it, Their aim
must be to take my post.” So he sent Kamadev, who in western terminology is known as Cupid
& cupids sharp arrows can infatuate anyone except the Lord Himself or those who are
specifically under the protection of the Lord. So Kamadev created a whole atmosphere here -
was just so inducive to material enjoyment. All of his strength, all of his power were being
aimed towards Nara-Narayana risis, but they were indifferent. So cupid became very much
afraid that now if He is wrathful upon me I’m finished. But the Lord so kindly, so benevolently
smiled at Kamadev & all his associates & told them, “Do not fear, you are My honored &
welcomed guests. You have come to sanctify My ashram. So please accept these gifts from Me -
of My hospitality.” So then Nara-Narayana just to show who was Godhead emanated beautiful,
beautiful heavenly females that made all the cupids females look pale & ugly in comparison &
the demigods when seeing the beauty of all not all seeing but all their senses were completely
infatuated, bewildered & conquered by the sight of these beautiful ladies, but Nara-narayana
rishis had no attraction for any of them. And Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport that a
confectioner who is making sweet meats; everyone else is attracted to his sweetmeats but, he is
not attracted because he is with them all day. So the Lord can manifest any form of wonderful,
wonderful phenomena, but He is perfect and satisfied in Himself.
240
When Cupid shoots those arrows, there is big trouble
Lord Shiva was sitting in his yogic samadhi meditating on the Supreme Lord Krishna’s
pastimes within his own heart. And he was so completely immersed in such meditation. But at
that time a great demon of the name ‘Tarka’ was conquering all the worlds and the demigods
had no power to withstand his anger. So they understood after consulting with higher
authorities that the only person who will be competent to kill this demon is a son of Lord Shiva.
But at that time there was no son that they found. So they were thinking that this is very
important. So Indra, again to protect his abode from the onslaughts of people who wanted to
conquer it & take it away from him. He sent Kamadev to Shiva because no one else could get
him out of his samadhi. He was just completely immersed in another world. So Kamadev
created all around the most attractive & impulsive atmosphere towards temptation &
enjoyment. There was wonderful, wonderful breezes, perfect temperature, sweet fragrances, the
sounds of sweet birds singing, & he created the most beautiful, beautiful damsels & they were
singing & dancing & their anklets, bracelets & their bangles were jingling together & they were
playing beautiful instruments. Who could possibly maintain their sober consciousness in such
an atmosphere? But Lord Shiva was totally unmoved, indifferent - atmarama. So cupid -
Kamadev- he has a bow & arrow. Its bow is made out of sugarcane and the points of his arrows
are made out of flowers and when he shoots those arrows, there is big trouble, because those
arrows create such an infatuation and attraction for the beauty and sweetness and softness of
this world. So cupid was actually angry that Shiva was not responding. So he took his most
powerful flower ornamented arrow and placed it to his bow and shot it right into the heart of
Lord Shiva. Hare Krishna!!! And Lord Shiva was disturbed from his meditation, “Who has
disturbed me?” He looked in one direction, in another direction, in another direction. “Who has
done this?” And there hiding in a secret place with his little bow was Kamadev. And Shiva out
of wrath for been disturbed, opened his third eye and from that eye came a blazing, mystical
fire that burned cupid to ashes. Shankar Bhagvan ki Jai!
241
Become attached to saintly persons
Lord Kapila has said the path of perfection is to transfer your attachment, material enjoyment to
becoming attached to sadhus, to advanced devotees of the Lord because they will always bring
your consciousness to the lotus feet of Krishna. They will not take your consciousness for their
own exploitative purposes. That is a real Sadhu. In this world anyone you become to; they will
try to enjoy your attachment for their own purpose. But the Sadhus, whatever attachment you
offer them; they immediately offer it at the lotus feet of Krishna. So Kapiladev says this is the
path of perfection: become attached to saintly persons and through that process you become
attached to Krishna and as you become attached to Krishna and as you become attached to
Krishna you become detached from everything of this world and then there is no more birth,
old age, disease and death. There is simply a blissful life in loving service.
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Wonderful and joyful life
The devotees are going out each day to distribute Srila Prabhupada's books. This is such a
wonderful, wonderful service. To give a person medical assistance is good because it gives the
person relief from the body for some time but to give a person the mercy of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, as Srila Prabhupada has reveled to the world through his books; is to give the
person the opportunity to enter into the spiritual world, it is to give a person the only real
solution to his problems of life, Krishna consciousness. So those who perform this work in
sincere compassion are actually performing the greatest welfare activity of all creation and what
you give through Srila Prabhupada's books and other great acaryas should also be
exemplified. In this age of Kali-Yuga, the chanting of Hare Krishna Mahamantra is the most
sublime means of purification of the heart. This is the conclusion of all the writings of the great
saints. Let us distribute these books with great enthusiasm and let us show the world how
wonderful and joyful life can be in the association of devotees chanting the holy name.
243
Three gates that lead to hell
Wrath is one of the great enemies that must somehow or the other be controlled. It is explained
in Gita. Lust is the great sinful enemy and when it is unfulfilled it creates wrath and when there
is wrath, there is offense and when there is offense, we fall down into the material existence
lower and lower. To control anger is very difficult and they are all interconnected. Gita says
there are three gates that lead to hell: Lust, anger and greed and any sane man give them up
because they lead to the degradation of the soul.
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When there is anger one become like an animal
But in material existence when we become attached and then that attachment is frustrated, we
become angry and everyone knows what anger is like when you become angry. You become
overwhelmed by that sensation, Srila Prabhupada explains when there is anger, the chest
becomes hot and the breathing becomes deeper and quicker and the eyes become red and your
intelligence, your memory becomes bewildered. Krishna explains when there is anger your,
memory is bewildered. You can no longer think like same person; you are not thinking
systematically. ‘If I do this then this will happen’, ‘If I do that than that will happen’ ‘so I should
say this because I have to see in terms of the future’. When you are in normal consciousness,
you should be thinking like this. Preyas and Sheyas. Preyas means like the animals you just do
the needful, now to enjoy or to survive and sheyas means human existence. That means
whatever you do you think what will be the result. If I say something now what will it bring in
my future and we should always be calculating like that. But when there is anger one become
like an animal -Preyas. You become like insane. Your whole memory of everything, your trying
to accomplish in life, of everything that is at risk, it all is just forgotten and you become ceased
by the moment and you just react like fire and after you react, you speak harshly or perform
some terrible act. If you go to the criminal courts in any land in the world, practically everyone
who’s being penalized for what ever they are being penalized for criminal activities is usually
due to anger. When people become intoxicated, they become very easily angered. We read
about Ravana or Jagai and Madhai. They were always intoxicated. Therefore, they didn’t have
control of their mind and senses. They were always angry. They were lusty; frustration, anger.
When your memory is bewildered, your intelligence is lost and when your intelligence is lost,
you speak and act in ways that degrade your soul.
245
Enjoyments are always in a very, very impermanent situation
Anger is a great enemy. Lust and anger, they are like consorts of one another and they are worst
enemies. We must always be careful. Therefore Krishna explains in Bhagavat Gita, that from the
very beginning, curb this symbol of sin called lust because if you do not curb that attraction
when it first starts coming, then it will inevitably culminate in anger and then you will fall
down. You cannot help it, you become attached, you will be frustrated, that is the laws of the
world that your enjoyments are always in a very, very impermanent situation.
246
Solve the essential problems of life
This human form of life is the rare and precious opportunity to solve the essential problems of
birth, old age, disease and death. These four material miseries are underlying every aspect of
our lives. And they are inevitable. By any material arrangement, we cannot avoid this. We can,
at the best, postpone these miseries for any day. But as we see, as this age of Kali yuga is
proceeding even this is becoming very difficult. Srimad Bhagavatam explains padam padam
yad vipadam na tesam. We are living in a world where there is danger at every step. We do not
know what the next moment will bring. In the time we are living, wars appear to be imminent.
Earth changes can restructure civilisation as we note. There are so many diseases that are being
cultivated in societies due to karmic reaction, so many crimes, just innumerable uncertainties
that can come upon us at any moment of life. There is so much exploitation going on, as they
say, ‘the weak is the food for the strong’. And who is in power? Who has the strength in the
world today? It is a very unpleasant thought. So Krishna so kindly descends into this world to
give us the message of spiritual truth, which could actually solve the problems of birth, old age,
disease and death.
247
Everyone is struggling for survival
Essentially we are the eternal souls. We the infinitesimal part and parcel of the Supreme soul,
Lord Krishna. As Krishna is sat chit anand vigraha, eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss, as
His plenary expansion in the jiva tattva, we are also sat chit anand, eternal, full of knowledge
and full of bliss, not just temporary happiness. The bliss that Krishna is speaking about, is to be
unlimited joyful, immersed in an ocean of divine love and peace. Ecstasy. And to taste the
sweetness of that ecstasy is the only real goal and to share that ecstasy with others. How many
people in society that you know, or heard today, can honestly say that they are in ecstasy.
People are somehow or other struggling for survival, at the best. Whoever they may be, the rich,
the poor, everyone is struggling for survival. And just to work like an ass, eat like a hog, mate
like pigeon, and struggle to make nice accommodations for these arrangements. That is not the
goal of life.
248
What we always need for our spiritual survival
Srila Prabhupada has told us that the culmination of all of our preaching in Krsna Consciousness is to
induce people to wholeheartedly chant the holy names of Krsna. The chanting of the Holy names must
continue. Srila Prabhupada said we can do without temples. We can do without everything. We don't need
money. If we can get it, we will use it. We don't need property. If we get it we will use it. We don't need
vehicles. If we get it we will use it. We don't need good PR, Public relations. If we get it we will use it.
But one thing at all times, we always need for our spiritual survival and that is the association of the
devotees and the regular chanting of the Holy Names. If we lose either of these two principles, which are
actually one in essence, then we lose our connection to Krsna.
249
This forgetfulness is the cause of all sufferings
Having a nice family is good; providing that family a proper direction, otherwise the lower
creatures have nice families too. And even in this human species, I have yet to see a family that
is satisfied. There is also a problem. Children have difficulties in their exams, sometimes they go
their own ways; sometimes they die; sometimes they become criminals. So many problems.
And even if everyone is pious and united, still there will be so many heart-breaking
experiences, so many disappointments. And death is inevitable. Whenever it may come, we do
not know. So the purpose of life is not simply to make these material arrangements for
something that can never be - Real happiness. This human form of life is meant for self-
realisation. It is meant simply to remember who we really are and what our real nature is.
Ignorance simply means forgetfulness. And this forgetfulness is the cause of all sufferings.
We have forgotten what is Krishna. We have forgotten who are we. And we have forgotten how
to serve the Lord with our heart and soul. And due to that forgetfulness we are plunged into
dilemma of so many confusions and so many forms of bondage. And yet still even after hearing
this information, we are so anxious to try to solve the unsolvable problems through material
manipulation. Therefore, Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna.
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Learn the art of living in the service of Krishna
Krishna Consciousness is so simple. Just be conscious of Krishna. Just learn through proper
guidance and association of a guru and of genuine sadhus, whether they are in white or saffron.
A genuine sadhu by quality learns the art of living in the service of Krishna, living without
greed, without pride but living as a humble servant. In the material world everyone wants to be
the controller. In the spiritual world, everyone wants to be controlled, controlled by God’s love.
To be the slave, the people have this word slavery. There are wars to free people from slavery.
But in Krishna consciousness, we aspire to be like a slave; a slave of love, completely controlled
by Gods love. That is the position of spiritual ecstasy and that is the ultimate goal of all the
scriptures. The Bhagavatam explains that even if you perform your spiritual path through out
your life, even you perform your occupation very nicely until the day you die, if in the end
what you have done, if it does not culminate in the loving devotion of the Supreme Lord, you
have simply wasted your entire life. Any single moment, if not utilized in the aspiration of
the service of God, is a horrible waste of human existence.
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If you surrender to Krishna, He will protect you
So Vasudev took little baby Krishna, just born. It is explained, Mother Devaki, very quickly fed
her the milk from her breast. Just before sending Him off to His journey to Gokul, to make sure
that He may not be hungry. Although they knew He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
they just saw Him in a four-armed form. When they saw the charm of this beautiful swarup, a
baby, they forgot about the Supreme Godhead. Devaki was thinking, “ He is my baby. He is my
child. Let me fed Him and make Him well nourished for His trip.” And Vasudev went out into
the thunder and lightning and storming rains and flood. But because He was willing to perform
this service to the Lord, Ananta sesa appeared like an Umbrella so that not a drop of rain could
touch Krishna or Vasudev. And the river Jamuna made passage so that Vasudev could cross.
And very safely he came to Gokul. And as per Krishna’s instructions, he exchanged his own
little baby child with that of Yashoda who was a little girl, none other than yogamaya herself.
Vasudev got the baby child back. And when he entered the prison cell everyone woke. The
baby started crying. Kamsa was notified. He came running down, took the child and was ready
to smash her against the rock. But the child very gracefully came out of Kamsa’s hand, entered
into the air and revealed her true form of Durga, sitting on a lion with all of her weapons, she
said to Kamsa, “You are a great fool. The child who is meant to kill you is already born in
another place. Why you are giving so much suffering to your own sister. “ And she
disappeared. Kamsa understood that he would meet his destiny. But he was fighting so hard to
avoid it. Kamsa represents everyone in this world. We all have our destiny. We all have a lot of
suffering we have to go through for our previous karmas. And we are trying to make so many
arrangements to fight against to change it but it is not possible. But if you surrender to
Krishna, He will protect you.
252
Make the service of the Lord the first priority
Krishna says, “Sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah.” Krishna says, “Abandon all other varieties of duty, religion. Just
surrender to Me. I shall protect you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” But when it comes
surrendering to Krishna, even religious people who have some amount of faith, make it a last
priority or a lower priority in life. And this is a great misfortune. Because Krishna say, “As you
approach Him, He will reveal Himself accordingly.” If you make Krishna a low priority in life,
then He will make, giving you His mercy, as a low priority in His life. It is as simple as that. If
you have other concerns in life more important than the service of Krishna, then however nice
and pious you may think you are, He may proportionately make you a lower concern for
giving you His mercy in His life. If you make the service of the Lord, the first priority, Krishna
will make you His first priority, to give you His mercy. And that is the mercy that will actually
bring us real joy, real protection and real fulfillment in the pursuit of our life.
253
What is pleasing to Krishna
If the doctor shoots a needle or pierces a boil, does that hurt? Yes it hurts. But he is doing it for
the good of you. Therefore it is pleasing to Krishna that he is doing that. Similarly Arjuna he
was shooting the Kurus to cleanse the world of adharma in a genuine way. So that means it was
out of compassion, it wasn’t out of anger, greed and envy and pride. Arjuna was shooting
arrows out of compassion and love of god. So that was pleasing to Krishna. A doctor will hurt
you out of compassion that will be pleasing to Krishna. Sometime your parents may give you
certain punishment; a child is in pain, because ultimately it is for the good of the child. So
Krishna is pleased with that. So sometimes we hurt people but not to hurt them, just like for
instance I talked about my parents. When I took the path of Bhakthi I hurt their heart miserably.
But I was doing it for a noble cause. For the cause that is most beneficial to them. And now their
hearts are flowing with joy and pride that I am a devotee of Krishna. Do you think by hurting
them it was hurting Krishna? or was pleasing to Krishna? It depends on the cause. If you hurt
some one in such a way that it is not beneficial to the person and not beneficial to your own
integrity and spiritual progress. That hurts Krishna very much. But if trying to help others and
trying to live according to truth ourselves, other people are hurt due to their own
misconception. That is pleasing to Krishna. You know the story of Prahlad? Did Prahlad hurt
his father? .. Yes. When Prahlad told his father that he is the devotee of Lord Vishnu, his father
was in miserable pain. So much so he tried to kill his son, when his son wouldn’t give up his
devotion. His father was going totally mad, he was totally miserable. But in the end his father
got liberated by Prahlad’s devotion, now do you think it hurt Krishna? That Hiranyakashipu
was in pain? No. Prahlad was living for the welfare of his father; for the welfare of the human
society, for the welfare of everyone. But due to his father’s misconception, due to his ignorance,
he was hurt. So when we hurt people due to their lack of knowledge; when we really trying to
do what is beneficial for them that pleases Krishna but when we hurt people for our own
selfish interest then that is painful to Krishna.
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One can never understand the essence unless one takes shelter of a bonafide Guru
Here Bhishmadev in a most wonderful way is enlightening us. He explains how Krishna is
working & why he does what he does through His various agencies. This time in this world no
one can understand. In fact in the Chaitanya Charitamrita there is a similar story. It is described
that there was a very very learned scholar & this man was considered the No. 1 scholar of
Vedanta in India. He was a Grahastha man, & he was Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. He was so
learned in the Vedanta plilosophy that even Sanyasis would travel far & wide to sit at his feet
and to become his student to learn. And when the Supreme Lord Krishna incarnated 500 years
back in the divine golden from of Sriman Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He met with Sarvabhauma
Bhattacharya. He went to the Jagannath Temple & in the spirit of pure love of God, in the guise
of a devotee, He fainted before the deity of Jaganath. And Sarvabhauma took Him to his own
house to bring back the symptoms of life. He was practically unconscious in every sense of the
word; in His divine estatic feelings & when He came to consciousness; the son-in-law of
Sarvabhauma, Gopinath Acharya said "Do you know who this is". Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya
said, "I know who he is, He is only 24 years old and he took Sanyas, & he is got beautiful lotus
eyes, & wonderful complexion. I don't know how possible he is going to maintain his vows
unless he really scrutinizingly understands Vedanta & there is no one else who knows Vedanta
better than me so I should be the one to train him". And Gopinath Acharya said, "What are you
talking about, don't you know that this is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You consider
that you are more learned than Him that you can be His teacher". Then Sarvabhauma
Bhattacharya said according to the Vedas he is not the Supreme Personality of Godhead
therefore I cannot accept it. The Supreme Lord is called Triyuga, he only appears in 3 Yugas, he
does'nt appear in Kaliyuga. Of course Gopinath Acharya was also a great scholar of the Vedas.
It is explained in the Bhagvatam when Garga Muni came to meet with Krishna and his father
Nanda Maharaj, he told him that the Lord appears in 4 Yugas in 4 different colours. He appears
in a wonderful white complexion in Satya Yuga, He appears in a red complexion in Treta
Yuga, in a blackish complexion in Dwapar Yuga, in a beautiful golden complexion in Kali
Yuga. Why is it called Triyuga? Triyuga because in Kaliyuga He doesn't appear claiming Himself
to be God but He disguises Himself as a devotee of God for the specific purpose of training
people by his own example how to be a devotee of God. So Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya because
of his pride in being such a great scholar, he said that I cannot accept this & Gopinath Acharya
felt very sorry for his uncle. He said, “My dear uncle I must say that you are just a reservoir of
useless knowledge of the Vedanta because factually unless you receive the grace of God you
cannot understand anything in Truth”. And it is a fact "Tad vigyanartham sa Gurum eva
abhigachate". It is described in the Mundaka Upanishad that unless you study & humble
yourself under a bonafide Guru, you cannot understand the Vedas. It is impossible, there are so
many apparent contradictions, there are so many inconceivable ideas, you can never
understand the essence or the heart of it unless you take shelter of a bonafide Guru.
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Forgiveness is the principle
If we want to be Vaishnavas, then we have to be tolerant & forgiving. It is stated in Srimad

Bhagwatam 9th canto that of all the qualities of a brahmin, forgiveness is the principle. Even
Jesus Christ exemplified this & He always forgave all the offenses. Tolerate all the difficulties &
forgive others, else Krishna won't forgive us.
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Two processes maya cannot defeat
There are two processes that maya cannot defeat service to the Vaisnavas and the Hari naam
mantra. Therefore somehow or other she has to divert our attention away from this and how
does she do this? What she tries to do is bring disharmony and discord among devotees and she
has so many fantastic ways of going about it, She even uses Krishna’s devotees if they are a
little inattentive, to be her agents, to create disharmony and discord; to create lack of faith and
distrust; to create criticism, blasphemy amongst Vaisnavas because she knows if she can divide
the unity of the Vaisnavas, she has conquered. No one has a chance if she can accomplish that
one feat and the amazing thing is if we examine our own lives we find that sometimes we are
being used as the instruments of maya to create disharmony and discord among other
Vaisnavas we become the greatest enemy of Krishna in the name of being devotees. There’s
only one way to overcome that detachment as long as we are detached from our own profit
adoration, distinction; what can Maya do to us? As long as we want to be the controller or the
enjoyer on any level, she can secretly enter into our hearts or enter into the hearts of others to
create this condition of disunity and to spoil the service attitude within our hearts. No longer do
we want to be the humble servant of the vaishnavas but we want to be the Lord of the
vaishnavas. We want to enjoy the position of the vaishnavas, very dangerous!!! Therefore we
must be very, very, very cautious because Maya is so through. Just like water, if there’s one
little crack, the water will just find its way immediately to that crack. And the problem is our
consciousness has so many cracks. Therefore we have to keep it isolated, our consciousness
through proper association with devotees.
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Let me always be the servant
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu after revealing His form of Krishna to Haridas Thakur, He
said, "Haridas, ask any benediction you like. Whatever you want, I will give you, anything.”
And Haridas… he said, "My Lord, if you want to give me a benediction, give me this, that
whenever and wherever I am born in this world, let me always have the highest fortunate of
taking the Mahaprasada from the plates of your devotees and let me always be the servant of
those devotees. That is the only benediction that I desire." Namacarya Haridas Thakur ki jai!
This is the ultimate prayer which touches the heart of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. On
another occasion, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself was feeling great distress in His heart and
He said to Haridas Thakur that “to see all the foolish people in this world, in this universe
toiling fruitlessly to enjoy their senses, and thus accepting the miseries of birth and death, it is
causing Me great distress. How possibly can they be delivered and given ecstatic love of God”
And Haridas Thakur replied to the Lord, "Simply by Your descending in this world and loudly
once chanting the holy names, You have delivered everyone. By Your lotus feet touching this
universe, by the vibration of the holy name coming from Your Supreme lotus like mouth, all
living beings in this universe will go back to the spiritual world.”
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Please understand the true unity of all religions
When Haridas Thakur was living in Phulia, he was chanting the holy names. He would rise
early in the morning go to the Ganges and he would take his bath. And after bathing,
throughout the whole day, he would just roam from towns and villages with his arms raised
just inducing every one to chant the names of Krishna, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna
Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”. And the innocent and
simple people- they loved him, they surrendered their lives to him. But the envious people,
they wanted to destroy him. And then there were some of the leaders of the Muslim faith. This
was five hundred years ago when India was under Islamic rule and some of them were also
thinking that every one is becoming intoxicated with love of God due to Haridas and Haridas
was born in Muslim family, he is ruining our Religion. So they went to the Kazi and they
complained to him and the Kazi went to the governor and said that this Haridas must be
stopped. He must be punished. So there was a warrant issued for his arrest. When he was
brought before the governor, the Kazi who hated Haridas terribly, he began to make so many
allegations against him and they said, "You are born in a very high position, why are you
degrading yourself to these Hindu ‘rituals’. You are spoiling everything, if you do not cease to
engage in this manner, you will have to be punished severely". And I would like to read to you,
Haridas Thakur's reply to this great threat to his life because what Haridas Thakur is speaking,
if the world hears there will no longer be a conflict amongst any of the religions of this
world. They will understand true unity of all religions and all conflict will be something of
the past. Please hear the words of Haridas. Upon hearing the Governor speak he began to
laugh, "Wonderful is the illusory power of Sri Vishnu, listen dear Sir, God is one for all, He is
the eternal object of worship without a second for all, Hindus or Muslims, for young and old,
Hindu and non-Hindu, for man and woman. He and He alone is the Supreme Godhead, those
ignorant Hindus and Muslims who have no knowledge about the true nature of Godhead are
solely responsible for these unpleasant rivalries in religion. They create separate Gods, lay the
foundation for unnecessary foolish quarrels which lead to unfortunate development of
bitterness amongst the members of both the sections. If you can forget all these petty narrow
fanatic feelings for a while and try to understand with an impartial mind, the real truth, by
holding both, the Puranas of the Hindus and the Koran of the Muslims, the sound authorities in
judging such matters, the name and glories of the same Lord are sung by all people in every
part of the world according to the declaration of their respective scriptures. The same
Godhead accepts the inner motives underlying the acts of all persons. Any act of contempt
against any of His creatures in verily a contempt shown against Himself. Hence it is not
advisable to show any hatred toward any of the creations of the almighty God. " And then
Haridas Thakur began to explain (I am summarizing). Hence I am acting in the way that the
Lord has pleased to guide my mind. The progress of the soul in the service of the Lord entirely
depends upon the causeless mercy of the Lord himself. We advance only to the extent to which
he permits us to proceed. Haridas is explaining that there is one God for all great religions.
And according to the sweet will of the Lord, the Lord inspires one to worship and have faith in
a particular religion and a particular path and Haridas explained that I am uncontrollably
attached to the worship of Shri Krishna and there is no power on earth that can induce me to
stop chanting His holy names, "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare
Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. " The governor upon hearing him, his heart was
moved, he understood that this is a true saint speaking the highest truth. But the Kazi said, “He
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must be killed”. The Governor told Haridas, "If you do not stop publicly broadcasting the
glories of this maha-mantra, we will have to beat you in twenty-two market places torturously,
till you die. " And Haridas was very amused upon hearing this. Because he knew that his soul
cannot be killed and he told the Governor that my life is an offering to Lord Krishna and you
can do whatever you like to me. You can cut my body in millions of pieces but you cannot stop
me from glorifying His holy name, "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”.
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Be convinced of Lord’s promise
So governor sentenced Haridas Thakur to death and through the twenty-two market places,
executioners, they beat Haridas Thakur with canes brutally dragging him, kicking him,
blaspheming, insulting him in front of the whole public. And the pious people, they were
weeping and crying to see this injustice, they were praying to these executioners, praying, "Beat
me, but not this great saintly person, who is so gentle and kind to all living beings. " But they
continued to beat him through all twenty-two market places, practically from sunrise to sunset,
he was continuously being brutally severely beaten and whipped. At the end of the day, the
executioners were so utterly exhausted that they could no longer beat him and they were in
great distress. They said, "Haridas! We do not understand. No man has ever lived beyond three
market places, and not only have you lived, but you do not even show the slightest
inconvenience. In fact, as we were beating you, you were looking upon us as you were feeling
sorry for us. Your eyes were looking at us with great pity as if we were unfortunate . . . . and if
we do not kill you, they will kill us". So Haridas replied, "If my living is an inconvenience, then
just see how I die." And right before their eyes, he laid down and all symptoms of life ceased to
exist. And Kazi and others came and tested, "He's dead, very good! Throw him in the Ganges;
because the Hindus said because he is not in our caste, chanting the names of God, he doesn’t
deserve to be burnt by fire. And the sectarian Muslims were saying, because he was born a
Muslim but was chanting names of Hindu Gods, he doesn't deserve to be buried. So just throw
him in the river like a piece of garbage. So they threw him in the river like a piece of garbage
and he floated down the stream, for some time, and then he came back to his external
consciousness- out of his state of samadhi, and he began to chant the holy name, "Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare", and
everywhere around his followers began to come to touch his lotus feet. And when the news
came to the Governor and he heard it and even the Kazi and they all approached Haridas and
surrendered to him and said, "We can understand now that you are truly a great saint beyond
any religious distinctions. You are truly a man of God". In this way, Haridas Thakur, was
such a stature of compassion that no impediment on earth could stop him from pursuing the
mission of the Lord. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared, Haridas Thakur became one of
His intimate, most loving associates, because of this quality. On one occasion, Lord Chaitanya
to fulfill the desires of Haridas, revealed to him, His beautiful form of Sri Krishna. He also
said, "Do you remember many years, when you were being whipped and beaten by those
executioners?” He said, “At that time I took my Sudarshan Chakra from the Holy abode of
Vaikuntha and I sent that Chakra to destroy those people who were harming you. But at that
time you were praying with such love, “My Lord please forgive them. Please forgive them
and your love for the people trying to kill you and your forgiveness towards them was so
powerful, it was more powerful than the wrath of God. My Chakra would not leave My finger.
It refused to move. But I couldn’t tolerate you being beaten and insulted in such a way. So with
My own body, I covered your body to protect you”. And then in front of Haridas and all the
devotees, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, opened up his cloth and showed the very scars meant for
Haridas on his beautiful golden form. Kaunteya pratijanati name bhaktya prayachati- if we are
willing to serve Krishna with great faith, we must be convinced of His promise, that He will
always protect His devotees.

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Faith is a part of our life
But the modern education systems unfortunately have forgotten this most essential part of
learning. Of course the scientific approach as far as people believe is that I will only accept if
there is tangible proof, I will believe it if you can show me. You are talking about life after
death, but no one has ever been there and come back to tell about it. Can you show me a soul,
can you prove to me that there is something beyond death, if you cannot show me God, if you
cannot put Him before me to see, to touch, to smell, to taste, to experience directly with my
senses, how do you expect me to believe it and remain scientific. This is a great fallacy
because factually everything in your life that you believe is true, you have no means directly
through sense perception and yet you accept it. Who is your mother, how do you know, this
lady is your mother? It is based on faith none of you witnessed the act of procreation you
simply accept the basis of imperceivable faith, blind faith. This is my mother, this is my
father, this is my grandfather, this is my grandmother, and this is my great grandmother.
Gandhi was the father of India. How do you know? Faith. Can you see him, can you meet him. I
can tell you about God being your supreme father. “Can you say through Him? Show Him to
me?” And you will tell me about Gandhi, the father of India. I say, prove him, show him to me,
you cannot show me Gandhi any more than I can show you God with your senses. How do you
know that Mahatma Gandhi existed? Through books and through persons who knew him that’s
the only way. You have to have faith in those books and you have to have faith in the persons
who knew him. Otherwise you will never believe he existed. And everyone in this room
believes unanimously, irrevocably, that he existed. But there are all books, there are thousands
of times more books explaining the nature the history of God’s events in this world than there is
about Mr. Gandhi and there are saints and sages from all traditions throughout history who
explain that they have met Him, they have experienced Him. What is the difference? Faith is a
part of our life, which is the basis of practically everything we believe to be true. And this is
faith of what we have never and never will perceive with our senses. In geographical, do you
accept that, New York exists? How many have been to New York? You have faith in books and
faith in people who have been there. No experience, but you can go to New York, but only if
you have enough faith that you are willing to make the effort to go there. So similarly we can
perceive, we can experience not with these senses, but we can experience from within our heart
directly through realization, the experience of the soul within us, that is the very essence of our
existence, that is beyond birth and beyond death. But we must approach it scientifically.
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Sloving the problems of life
Death is the mysterious, inevitable conclusion of what we know to be life and this subject
matter of death is always been a great mystery. Why? Because man takes great pride through
philosophy, through technology, through science, through social progress, through economic to
solve the various problems that we face in day after day and you will find most of the courses
that are being offered in the colleges today are courses which teach you how? When you come
out of the school, you can help solve the problems of society. I believe many of you are studying
Law, now who will hire a lawyer unless he is having a problem. I have never heard of anyone
yet, it is a service, which is meant to solve a difficult problem within society. Perhaps some of
you are studying medicine. Who goes to a doctor unless he has a problem? We are trained to
solve problems of life. Practically all of the science whether it be physics, sociology or whether it
be psychology, you have been trained to learn the science of how to solve problems of
individuals, problems of the world. If we study economics, there is a simple principle of
economics, that is the basic of the whole technical learning and that is in this world every living
being has unlimited desires to enjoy unlimited resources but there is only unlimited amounts
of resources, so individually, collectively, nationally we find so many problems. We see that the
world is perhaps facing a third world war. India and Pakistan are always about to have a war,
the war in the Gulf, there are wars in Africa; there are wars in South America. It is all due to the
problem of economics. So you see through our intelligence, through our efforts in this world.
We are very anxious to make a solution to problems even business, people grow food to solve
the problems of hunger, when we go down the street, you buy tooth paste to solve the problems
of cavities, you wear clothes of either being a social misfit or to solve the problem of cold or
heat, throughout our lives we are endeavoring to solve the problems that face us, but there is
one problem that is 100% guaranteed to face each and everyone of us and through all science
and technology, we have no solution to the problem and that is the problem of death.
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We should never neglect our service to Krishna
It is explained by Sukadev Gosvami that while Krishna was just a tiny little child, His lila of Bal
Gopal, He would be very fond of stealing the butter from the pots of the gopis. On this
particular occasion on the day of Diwali, Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur explains that
Mother Yasoda was feeding Krishna her milk and meanwhile the milk that was boiling on the
fire stove began to boil over. So she placed Krishna down in a comfortable place and went to
tend to her duties. And Krishna took this opportunity to perform one of the most beautiful and
loving pastimes that is forever enacted within the hearts of His devotees. He wanted to show us
that there is no occupation superior than pleasing Krishna. We can let all the rest of our world
fall down, but we should never neglect our service to Krishna because ultimately everything of
our world will fall down by the power of time. But as Krishna explains in Gita- Nehabhikram
nasosti pratyavayo na vidyate ……………….there is one thing that is eternal in our lives- one thing
that is never lost and that is whatever spiritual progress we make engaging in devotional
service, performing bhajana and seva at the feet of Krishna and His devotees.
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You are constantly changing
The Bhagavad Gita is a book, a literature, which very systematically explains the nature of
Consciousness. What is the difference between a living body and a dead body? Not material
chemicals. The difference is that one is conscious and one is unconscious . That consciousness is
you. We are not these bodies. This is the basic principle of every transcendental philosophy
although we are living our lives day after day after day, although we are these bodies; that are
great illusion. But who am I? You may know history, you may know mathematics, you may
know computer technology. You may know all sorts of athletics, but do you know who is it
that’s knowing these things. Who I am? This is the basic principle of knowledge. That is
practically neglected throughout the world. You see at one time you were a little tiny child and
you grew to a boy and now you are youth, you will be old, the body is always changing. But the
person that is witnessing the changes of the body always remains the same. The tie which is
consistent throughout our lives, you say when I was five years old, I did this, when I was ten
years old, when I was twenty years old, I did this. When I am seventy years old, I hope to do
like this. Who is that I? Every seven years all the cells of the body are changing, the body is
constantly changing, and the mind is changing far faster, than the body. When you were a little
boy, playing and doing all athletics and sports, you were not thinking in any way the way you
are thinking now. The problems you were facing then have nothing to do with the problems
you are facing now. So physically mentally you are constantly changing.
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People are very much afraid of death
The Bhagavad Gita explains that we are changing our bodies, we are re-incarnating at every
moment. Our body is made of cells. Those cells are dying and becoming new again, dying and
becoming new again; re-incarnation is not something that is a matter of what happens after the
death of this body. Re-incarnation is something that is constantly taking place moment after
moment after moment. The soul is accepting new physical conditions, new mental conditions. And
that the time of death; the Bhagavad Gita explains; it is a continuation of the same process at the
time of death. The soul accepts another body. What type of body? This is a great mystery.
People are very much afraid of death because they don’t know what is beyond?
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Let us distribute the books with great enthusiasm
person relief from the bodies for some time but to give a person the mercy of Sri Caitanya
sincere compassion are actually performing the greatest welfare activity of all creation and what
you give through Srila Prabhupada's books and other great Acharya should also be
exemplified. In this age if Kali-Yuga, the chanting of Hare Krishna Mahamantra is the most
wonderful and joyful life can be in the association of devotees chanting the Holy Name.
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Modern Science Vs Spiritual Science
In 1492, Christopher Columbus, he was very anxious to find a short-cut to India, because
believe it or not, those days India was the wealthiest country in the world and everyone in
Europe understood that whoever has the fastest access to India, will be the wealthiest
country and the most prosperous, strongest and economic country in Europe. That’s why
constantly boats were going all the way around Africa and through this way of Mediterranean,
trying to get the fastest most direct way to India. In fact later on the British they conquered
practically the whole world. It is said that the sun never sets on the British empire because there
was always somewhere the sun was present because in all four corners of the world, the British
had ruled. India was called the crown jewel of the British Empire. It was their most noble and
precious of all achievements that they had conquered India because India was the place of the
greatest riches natural resources jewels' silks, spices, and wealth. And Moguls also, how much
time and energy sending millions of soldiers to conquer India. It is said, that most of the wealth
of India is now in the British museums. India was plundered and plundered and plundered
until what you have today, so much poverty, so much need. But in 1492, India was very
wealthy place. So Christopher Columbus decided that everyone is going through Africa,
through all these various canals, trying to get to India. But I say that the world is round and I
am going to go the other way instead of going to east, I am going to take my boat across the
ocean west-ward and I will run into India that way because the world is round. And people
were horrified, they said, “You are insane you are crazy. The world is flat.” Western science
until then unanimously agreed that the world was flat and if go beyond a certain point in the
ocean we will fall of the world and there were various speculations. Some say, you would just
fall endlessly, eternally through sky and some believe that there were dragons and fire that you
would fall into and some believe that after you fell off the world, you are going to hell where
the devil is standing with his pick fork ready to stab you and burn you. There are all different
theories and speculations of what happened after you fell off the world, but everyone agreed
that if you keep going, you would fall off because it is flat. This is only 500 years ago? This is
science? Science is constantly changing their theories with newer and newer and newer
discoveries. Of course in the Vedas and in the Srimad Bhagavatam, which is over five thousand
years old, one of the scientific books of the Indian spiritual heritage; it is explained very, very
simply that the world is global; it is round. The science of the Vedas doesn’t change, but it is
never proven incorrect either, it is a science, which is descending from an absolute realm.
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Eventually you have to face it
Try to understand that this was a great great fear, falling of the world. Why were they in such a
great fear? Because nobody knew, nobody knew for sure whether it really did end the world
and nobody knew what was there. So everyone was telling Christopher Columbus, “Don’t do it;
you are crazy!” But by his navigations, he was convinced that it (earth) was round and he was
willing to take a chance. Why was there so much of fear? Why nobody dared to go westward
before? Because of fear, fear of the unknown. Death is like that, death is unknown, it is mystery
and therefore people are afraid of death, afraid for their own death, afraid for their loved one’s
death. So many children when they love their pet dog or they love their pet fish or they love
their mother, father, brother, sister, they pray at night, “Please God do not let my loved ones
die, please do not let them die”. And when one of them does die, it’s very sad and it increases
our own fear of death and it increases the fear of others’ dying. This fear of death is one of the
intricate part of every person's life and you can try to forget it, but forgetting it, you can only do
for so long? You can hide yourself from reality of your ultimate destiny but eventually you
have to face it. You cannot forget it for long, it’s all around you, it’s in all the newspapers, it’s in
your families, you are getting older, it’s creeping up.
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The science of self-realization
To face a problem and trying to understand and solve that problem is the true glory of a
human being. To close your eyes and run from the problem or ignore the problem is
ignorance. And most people even in the most highly educated Phd’s when it comes to the most
important problem of life, which is death, they close their eyes, they don’t want to think about
it, they don’t want to hear about it because they do not know why? Because they believe that
life or death is simply what ever I want to be whatever I feel; my opinion should be. But there is
a science, it is a science of self-realization which is been taught throughout the ages in every
culture of the world which gives one an understanding and the means of experiencing and
realizing what is life, what is death and what is beyond this. Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad
Gita; they deal with the subject very very thoroughly.
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What goes round comes round
It is explained that there are laws of nature. For every action there is an equal corresponding
reaction. For those who have studied a little science; you know that this is irreversible law. It
is a law that it is inticle within every aspect of this creation; that is caused the law of physics for
every action there is an equal corresponding reaction or as we say in English, ‘What goes round
comes round’ or Isaac, Newton, Galileo; they so called discovered the laws of gravity. What is
law of gravity mean? What goes up must come down. So simple!!! But they made so many
very very sophisticated equations to explain what goes up must come down. It is a law
anything that goes up must come down. There is no question of exceptions. Find an
exception???? Anything you throw up; will come down. This is the law of nature but there are
also subtle laws of nature, which have the same basic thing that for every action there is a
reaction. If you commit violent activity to another, you cannot escape the reaction of that, that
violence must come back to you exactly. When exactly??? How??? That you may not be able to
understand the detail but it will. An equal corresponding suffering must come back to you. If
you give in charity, it must come back to you. Irreversible law!! Whether you believe or not
believe; these are the laws of nature.
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The laws of nature act regardless
There are laws of the state. If I rob a bank then I will say that I don’t believe that there is
anything wrong with robbing this bank because I need the money……. explain that to a judge!!!
Ignorance’s of the law is no excuse to breaking the law. If I put my hand in fire I am burnt
whether I believe its going to burn or not; the laws of nature are never subjected to what you
believe; the laws act regardless. So similarly what our actions are in this life and what are
desires are in this life will create an atmosphere in which at the time of death, the soul will be
transported to a place, to a particular type of body. It is said in the Vedas there 8400000 species
of life and each specie of life has a particular type of enjoying and suffering and in this human
specie of life we see so many various conditions of enjoying and suffering; that we can be born
into that condition of the type of form we take; is exactly according to what we have done
within this life. These are the laws of nature. Now a human being; as every specie of life; has
special facilities that are unique the human form of life; is not designed for enjoying physical
sensations because the animals can do it much better and that is the fact.
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If your standard of enjoyment is sex????
But unfortunately the human society, due to ignorance, they are simply dedicating themselves
to enjoying physical pleasures, which is available for the dogs and the hogs. Some people they
believe that the greatest enjoyment of life is sex. Specially in the western world people are mad
after sex and in India the population obviously means that you are not very indifferent to sex.
So there is a pleasure. There is no doubt. But is human being simply meant to enjoy this
pleasure? We are not very good at it. Just like when I was a little boy, my parents brought me to
this movie and this James Bond you’ve heard of him and the movie, the man had sex with
about 14 women in a course of 2 hours!! The movie was 2 hours and all beautiful women and
everyone in America wanted to be like him, he was the idle, he was the hero, just see how he
moves his eyes, how he smokes his cigarette, how he is attracting so many women. They were
thinking anyone who could be so attractive to women must be great. So people were wearing
007 belts, 007 T-shirts, everything is advertised according to him because after all everyone
wants to enjoy sex but who is he? What is his potency? A Pigeon can have sex, sixty times in
one day. How many times can you have sex in one day, two to three times and you are totally
exhausted. Pigeons are still flying around after sixty times!!! Not only that, they don’t have to
worry about making money, taking her out to dinner, finding this place, that place, they don’t
have to worry about unwanted children, they just do it and do it and do it and there is no
anxiety, there is no difficulty, they simply enjoy and get the same pleasure out of it as a human
being. So if your standard of enjoyment is sex, you are far inferior to a pigeon or a monkey or
an insect.
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Why there are so many species of life
What about eating, there is a saying, ‘you should eat to live not live to eat’, but people live to
eat, they love to eat, it’s the greatest pleasure in life, to eat nice food as much as they can, but
how much can you eat? The human being's stomach is only this big and your desire so big. If
you get the nicest food, you have been longing for this food and then you eat so much and then
you are frustrated because you can’t eat anymore, but you try anyway and you get sick. This
is a dilemma! But an elephant can eat 100 kilos a day, what that means that for 24 hours, the
elephant can eat, eat, and eat never get indigestion to satisfy that taste propensity, all day long!
So if your standard of pleasure is eating, why do you want to be a human being? Better to be
an elephant. What about defending? People are very proud to be strong and powerful, it’s like,
“I can beat you up!” In America, boxing is the most money making of all athletic sports. If you
are a good boxer, you could make several millions of dollars within a span of one hour.
Sometimes ten million dollars for a fight even if they loose, why? Because people are very
proud to see that this man, he is so tough, he is so strong, he can beat others, but who ever you
are Mike Tyson or Mohammed Ali; put this man in the ring with a cobra or with a tiger or with
a panther, you think he will last one round? Within ten seconds, he will be torn to pieces.
Human beings are not meant for defending the animals, they are far superior. And some people
love to swim? Can you swim like a fish? Some people like to fly, but can you fly like a bird?
Human life has one special facility that no other species has; the human being has the power to
discriminate, the power to question his existence. This is the one mystic power that the human
being has. Who I am? Who is God, where am I coming from? What is death? What is beyond
death? The fish, the vegetables, the animals cannot ask these questions, they are simply serving
day after day, serving their need’s day after day and seeking their pleasures for their bodies,
but we can question our existence and through the process of questioning our existence, we can
do something that no other……….. no other spice of life can do. We can transcend the problem
of birth and death. We can realize the eternal soul that is full of knowledge and full of bliss that
is within our own hearts and this is the gift that is given to every human being and if this gift is
neglected and ignored; it is the law of nature that if something is neglected, it is taken away.
Just like if I break my arm and the doctor puts my arm in a cast, if I don’t move my arm for 8
weeks or 12 weeks when they take the cask off what happens? It takes days and days till I can
even begin to move my arm again because you have not used the power of motion that you’ve
been given; it’s taken away. This is the law of nature if you don’t use what you have, it is
taken away. If we do not use our human intelligence and our power to discriminate; to
understand what is beyond not simply the pleasures and the needs of the body but to
understand, “Who am I? What is the true pleasure and fulfillment of all my hearts desires?
what is God? What is my relationship? What is death and beyond?” If we do not utilize our
God given intelligence for this purpose it will be taken away and that is why there are so
many species of life, for those spirit souls who did not utilize for this purpose; they are given
body where they can factually be happier.
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Apply your good intelligence for the ultimate
How many human beings are really happy? Human intelligence, which is meant for this
purpose, when it is directed towards the animal instincts; only it creates a total mess out of the
world: the air pollution, the water pollution, the wars taking place, the prejudice and hate
throughout the world, the putting of nuclear waste in the ground and they don’t know what's
going to happen to the earth? The horrible horrible diseases like cancer and aids which are born
of misuse of our own bodies, the breaking down of the ultra violet layers, the ozone covering
and protecting us from the sun there are many many problems in this world. Are they caused
by the birds and the beats or the frogs and the grasshoppers? They are all caused by the
human beings because human beings are trying to use conscious power of discrimination
which is so powerful; the power to understand the eternal self. When we use that great power
and direct it towards the instinct of the animals, we cause a complete mess. We become
endlessly greedy and envious and proud and lusty. And see the power of what is happening to
the whole planet and how many people are suffering? Therefore it is very very important for us
to apply our good intelligence for the ultimate goal of life to understand who am I and Who is
God?
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Everything come from something
If there is a God, which is certainly possible, after all everything comes from something. Does
everything come from something or does everything come from nothing. Within your common
experience have you ever seen that something comes from nothing? What do you think? This
table comes from a tree, comes from the ground, the plants; this body comes from a mother and
a father everything we have ever witnessed within our life proves that something comes from
something. So science means to be consistent!!! Everything comes from something or does
everything comes from nothing??? Which is scientifically??? Because what ever we have must
come from either an object or a mixture of objects, which have all the data, which is in the final
product. That is physics. How can something with quality come from nothing with no
quality? There is no rational. There is no scientific understand to this. If something could come
from nothing then there is no God but if everything comes from something; that something
is God.
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Who is absolute truth?
What are the qualities of that something, what is the nature of that something; that is great
science to understand? But first we have to accept that it is certainly very possible that there
must be an absolute truth from which everything is emanating or (He is) the cause of all causes.
The Vedanta sutra says, jjanmady asya yato- “The absolute truth is He from Whom everything
emanates”. So human life is meant to question, is there a God? If there is a God, what is my
relationship with God?” If we do not utilize our life for this purpose, then according to our
karma, or according to the laws of action and reaction, we must take another birth in the wombs
of various species of life. But if you realize through direct experience, it is explained, mam
upetya punar janma duhkhalayam asasvatam - that those who realize the eternal self, they no
longer take birth in this world, where everything is temporary, where there is the suffering of
birth, old age, disease and death. But they attain the supreme natural spiritual position, which
is meant for everyone.
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Fish out of water
If you are spiritual by nature; to identify with this body and try find pleasure with this body is
like a fish trying to find pleasure out of the water. You can give a sentiment of pleasure, a
concept of pleasure to a fish out of water; or you can give it nice food. It will think, “Ah! It tastes
very nice”, but he is still miserable because he is still out of the water. You can give him a nice
female fish, “Ah, very very good.” But how long, that will last. You can give him a good
reputation and show he is in the front pages of newspapers and he will say, “Ah, I am great,
everyone loves me.” You can give him a beautiful house but as long as he is dying in the sand,
he cannot be satisfied because it is not his nature. There is material nature and spiritual nature.
This body is material nature. This mind and intelligence is subtle material nature. Krishna
explains in Gita, bhumir apa nalo vayuh- earth, water, fire, air, ether, these are the basic material
elements, gross elements; but there are three subtle material elements- the mind, subtler than
the mind is the intelligence and subtler than the intelligence is false ego. But then He goes on to
explain, apareyam itas tv anyam prakrtim viddhi me param- that’s subtler than even the subtlest
element the false ego; is the conscious force that emanates and gives life to this mind and body.
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In human form of life we have the power to realize
Just like if you have a radio, the radio has all the components to give sound but without the
electric current, none of the functions of the radio can operate. A computer is a very very
sophisticated, a computer has it’s own brain and it’s own ways of expressing what’s in the
brain. But without an electric current, that computer can do nothing. An automobile has so
many functions, but not a single function can operate without the driver. So this body is like
that. Your eyes cannot see. Your ears cannot hear. Your tongue cannot taste in itself. There is
somebody seeing through the eyes, hearing through the ears, tasting through the tongue, loving
from the heart and thinking from the brain. Who is that? It is you. You are the conscious
force, the witness, the atma, the soul within this body. And in this human form of life we have
the power to realize and understand how this soul is eternal, full of knowledge and full of joy.
All the joy that we are seeking through the senses never really satisfies us because it is all
temporary and limited.
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“Happy Birthday”
What is the difference between Lord’s appearance in this world and our appearance in this
world? This is described here. Lord Kapiladev had said, ‘Karmana daiva netrena ...’ the
conditioned soul is forced in a particular womb of the particular species of life due to his past
karma. Therefore, for the ordinary soul, we say, “It is his birthday”, but for the Lord we never
say birthday, we say His appearance day. Just like we celebrate our birthdays……... Do you
know what it was really like at the time of your birth? Was it a joyous occasion? You were
crying and screaming, you were about this big and you were forced through an opening…. You
were being crunched and your mother, my God! You know what she was doing, she was
screaming, crying, she was vowing at that time, “I will never do it again, this is too much.”
Right? Doesn’t every mother do that? Of course they forget after some time. But while it is
happening, very very painful experience. Of course I cannot speak from my own realization, I
can only speak from what I heard. But the baby is crying and the mother is crying, not in
ecstasy but in terrible agony. Right? It is said that when you cry cold tears, that’s ecstatic and
when you cry hot tears that means that you are in great distress. And both the mother and the
baby are just crying hot tears like anything. And the baby keeps crying and crying and crying
and the mother is just crying........ and in this way, “Happy Birthday.” And we love to
remember that day!!! Every year we celebrate that day!!! Fortunately we forget how it was
really like!!!
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Prabhu
Srila Prabhupada explained we should address every other devotee as prabhu. Prabhu means
master, and we should address ourself as dasa or servant. It is very important, not only to
speak it but to feel it. If someone is prabhu; that means that they are my masters. I am servant.
Sometimes we misuse this word prabhu. Sometimes we say, “Prabhu, prabhu!, pick up my
shoes. You are nonsense prabhu!” This is not prabhu. This is just a word. Prabhu means master.
We should mean what we say. And a devotee, whatever our position is, we are the servant of
everyone.
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Truth awakens love, mercy and selfless service
Whatever your way of life may be, whether a businessman or a doctor or a lawyer, or whether
it is housewife or a student or whether you have wife and children. And it is not that you must
necessarily give up your responsibilities in this world; because there is a need for all these
various professions for human society to function. But the greatest need for the people who are
engaging in these activities are; doing it with the understanding of truth. Because truth
awakens love, mercy and selfless service to all others, and that is the greatest need. In this
world, there is not enough love, compassion and truth. In this world if that was there,
everything else would have been provided. All shortages are due to greed and envy if you
examine the situation of our planet today. So therefore to perform your duty in this state of
divine consciousness, the consciousness of love, which is within you, that is the great gift,
which is available in your life. So please we are not concerned with converting a person from
one religion to another, we are not concerned with recruiting members. We are simply
concerned with enlightening the persons to truly take advantage of the opportunity to realize
the principles of universal truth and love; that is within your own heart. Thank you very much!
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Helping the medicine go down
When we come into the association of devotees we become inspired, but when we leave that
association, we quickly get caught up in our worldly affairs. Therefore we need to regularly
associate with devotees - if possible, everyday. Else by the effect of the modes of nature, any
such inspiration will be quickly put into the background.
We must associate with devotees regularly. We have to chant our Hare Krsna mantra
japa everyday. Have to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam everyday. These are essential.
It is just like medicine - we have been prescribed to take this medicine of Krsna
Consciousness. If we take medicine once, it may have some effect, but this will not last.
Therefore we have to keep taking it regularly.
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Performing our duty in the divine state of consciousness
Every living being; from the insignificant insect or the greatest greatest king; everyone is
looking for unending joy. Why? Why do we all have that in common? Because it is our nature.
The nature of the fish is to enjoy in the water. And it cannot enjoy out of water. The very
essence of our life is to enjoy the eternal spiritual pleasures within our own hearts. But we have
forgotten, not only forgotten but we have abandoned what is within us, groping, searching,
scraping to find that pleasure outside through the senses and the objects. But it never works.
For those who seek pleasure in the senses and their objects, they must continue the repetition of
birth and death; birth and death to the various species of life, in the pursuit of pleasure. But
when we look at our soul for the answer, then we go first to a philosophical, logical
understanding of what may be there and then doing some serious research in this regard and
then following a particular process where experience and realization takes place. Then yes, we
can experience the taste, the pleasure, the bliss that we have always been anxious for. It’s all
right at home. We are going everywhere except right home within our own hearts, and when
we find it there, we can share that glorious state true security and pleasure with all of our loved
ones, and with all humanity and that is the greatest goal of life and that is available for each and
every one of us and it does not mean that we require to give up our pursuits and our
responsibilities in regard to our family and occupation. It means that we should perform our
duty in this world, in this divine state of consciousness; this is what Bhagavad Gita teaches.
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The more fallen a person is, the more glorious it is when he becomes great
Tonight we are most fortunate; we are gathered together on the most sacred occasion of the
appearance of the Supreme Lord Sri Hari, as He appeared in His most beautiful and merciful
form of the son of Dasarath, as Sri Ramacandra. This story was originally told and written by
the great sage, Valmiki Muni. Valmiki Muni, as you know, was a highway robber and a hunter,
he would torture and murder innocent creatures as his very means of livelihood. But of course,
how many of us think of him like that? Does anyone condemn him like that? We glorify him for
being like that; because the more fallen a person is, the more glorious it is when he becomes
great. Valmiki Muni although living such a sinful and useless life; (later) in the association of
great devotee Narada Muni, he became purified. Narada Muni told him, “If you want to be
purified from all your sins, you must chant the names of Rama.” Valmiki Muni was so sinful;
he could not chant the name of Rama. Now some of us think that I am so fallen, and I am
addicted to so many sinful activities, what hope there is for me to become self-realized?
Sometimes we become discouraged, thinking I am addicted to so many bad habits, I have so
many attachments, my mind is so uncontrolled. How it is possible for me to become liberated in
this life, in Krishna consciousness? But every one of you in this room is able to chant the name
of Rama, correct! Repeat after me, Rama! Rama! Everyone! Raise your hands up if you cannot
chant the names of Rama. If you are so sinful, that you cannot chant the names of Rama………
….. That means you all are much more pious than Valmiki was. But he could not do it. He was
trying, Narada Muni was saying, “Rama, Rama.” And he was just...., he couldn’t do it! Even
though Narada Muni convinced him of his sinful reactions that were coming up upon him for
all of his deeds, all of his crimes, he could not chant the names of Rama, so you know, the
acarya is not a self-righteous fanatic that says, “Okay, if you won’t chant the name of Rama. It is
a bonafide mantra. Then I am going somewhere else, I am sorry but I cannot help you.” The
acarya is ready to adjust all the rules and regulations to somehow or the other make the person
Krishna conscious. Now which acarya has ever taught previously to chant the name of the God
of death (mara)? Can you think of anyone? What bonafide guru taught, chant mara mara mara
mara..... ….is God of death, nobody does! But Narada Muni knew that this man is so attached to
death, he is so intimate with killing that he will be able to chant the name of mara with great
feelings. So therefore we understand the real acarya, he is not merely a self-righteous to
maintain the tradition but he is ready to do whatever it takes to liberate those persons he is
preaching to. So he began to chant mara mara mara..……………. Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama and
then by chanting...... what was his qualification? His qualification was simply he is willing to
try to obey his Guru. He had no qualification; he was such a sinful demon. He was a demon.
But because he was simply willing to try to follow the instructions of his Guru sincerely, all of
his shortcomings were put aside by the Supreme Lord Rama and in a very short time, he was
chanting the names of Rama and then he was given the vision of the transcendental pastimes of
Lord Ramacandra and he wrote it down to all the world, and he wrote as long as there are
mountains, securely placed on this earth and as long as there are rivers flowing on those
mountains to the sea; the holy name of Rama and the pastimes of Ramayana will be chanted by
all the pious men.
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The actual real reason of Lord’s appearance
But we see when the Supreme Lord appears, it is altogether different, He is not forced to take
birth because of His previous karma, He appears in this world by His own free will. He
appears in this world to annihilate the miscreants, to deliver the pious and to re-establish the
principles of religion. But actually does the Lord have to take birth to perform these three
activities? He can do it through the agency of His devotees. He can destroy the miscreants in
any way He wants, through the agency of material nature, through the agency of His devotees.
He can deliver the pious through the scriptures, through the saints. Similarly reestablish the
principles of religion. The actual real reason why the Lord has to come is to attract the minds
of the conditioned souls to His divine form, to His divine pastimes, to His divine Lila and the
more we understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Bhagvan’s Lila is completely
transcendental, it is a total spiritual experience, to that extent we become spiritually purified.
And therefore the most important activity in our life is to hear the glories of the Lord and
chant the glories of the Lord.
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One who knows God can reveal God
The most important activity in our life is to hear the glories of the Lord and chant the glories of
the Lord. But we must hear from the authoritative sources, otherwise we will not get the proper
understanding. Just like there are so many people with so many opinions of Lord Sri Krishna’s
leela or Lord Sri Ramacandra’s leela. You cannot understand the transcendental nature of the
Lord’s appearance and activities unless you hear from those who are coming in disciple line
of self realized souls. One who knows God can reveal God otherwise we find so many people
who know Krishna’s pastimes but they do not really know anything about Krishna. There are
so many people who know Ram’s leela, but they know nothing about Rama. People are seeing
Mahabharata every Sunday, and as they are watching the pastimes, many of the detections of
Mahabharata are actually what are written in the book, some of them are changed but many of
them are just like it is in the book. But whether it is little changed or just like is the book,
either way most people do not understand what is going on internally. They just see it as an
entertaining story and they think, because it is about God, it must be higher, but do they really
understand the message? Do they really understand the nature of the Lord’s activities and His
divine leelas? It is impossible to understand without the explanations of the self-realized souls
or those who are acting on behalf of the self-realized souls. So therefore to hear the glories of the
Lord, in the association of sincere devotees of the Lord, is the most important part of our life
because it is only through this process that we can understand the transcendental nature of the
appearance and activities of the Lord. And it is only by this process that our mind becomes
attracted away from the temporary pastimes of this world and attracted to the lotus feet of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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Ramayan
Valmiki Muni, he wanted this great scripture, to be chanted in the great cities of the world. So
his two most intimate and pious disciples, he taught them Ramayana and they were so virtuous
that by hearing once they learnt it by memory and they were just asked to chant the Ramayana
to the benefit of all living beings. Their names were Kusa and Lava, they happened to be two
sons of Lord Ramacandra and Sita who from their time of birth, lived in hermitage of Valmiki
Muni, after Sita devi was banished to the forest. So Kusa and Lava came to Ayodhya and to the
holy land of Ayodhya they began to chant the beautiful glories of Ramayana. Of coarse
although they had the identical bodily characteristics like their Father ‘ Sri Ramachandra’ they
could not be recognized because they were living like sadhus; wearing the barks of trees with
matted heads and Lord Sri Rama, when He heard His pastimes being narrated, He invited Kusa
and Lava into His palace court and invited all His ministers and all of the towns people to hear
it attentively to the beautiful stories of Sri Rama. And the narration of Ramayana begins by
Kusa and lava narrating these pastimes to Rama Himself. It describes that in the holy city of
Ayodhya, which is situated of the bank of the river Sarayu, there was a king by the name
Dasratha. He was the king of the province of…And a great descendant of Maharaja Iksvaku of
the Solar dynasty. King Dasarath was a very pious and religious King. He was in true sense a
Raja-Risi. He was simultaneously a saint and a king. He was a pure devotee of God and
everyone in his kingdom was fairly satisfied because he was teaching the people to live in peace
& harmony, perfectly in pure love of God. The kingdom of Ayodhya, because of the piety of
this great king was flourishing with prosperity. There was no poverty. There was great
opulence. The roads were beautiful and clean, scented with sandalwood and fragrant oils & the
houses were made of marbles and bedecked with jewels. And all the people were dressed in
beautiful colored clothing and everyone was constantly singing the glories of Lord Hari.
Dasratha Maharaja, he had 350 queens. We are talking about the age of Treta, where men lived
10’s and 1000’s of years. And great kings, they were allowed to protect and care of as many
women as they could keep satisfied. So you can imagine how great king Dasratha was! That he
could keep 350 queens simultaneously satisfied. How many of you husbands can keep your
one wife fully satisfied? Raise your hands if you can do that. I will not ask you to raise, if you
cannot do that, we can understand, “how great and glorious these are our fathers. You are our
guide”. The king was! He was a maharathi. In battle, he could destroy 1000’s of men at a time.
One day he approached his ministers and he explained to them as well as great Saints and sages
that he was feeling great great distress in his heart because although he was growing very very
old, he had not yet had a single son, because some one must continue the dynasty. So he said
that, ‘with all my wealth and with all my strength, although I have conquered all the world, I
am king of earth and although all my subjects love me like their father; still my heart is empty
because I have no son. He said, “ I desire to perform a sacrifice to Lord Vishnu, in order to have
a male son.” At that time his Guru, Vasista Muni, he said, “My dear king I will make the
arrangements for the sacrifice” And then his very faithful and loyal minister Sumantra took him
aside. He said, “So many years ago the great Sage Sanak Kumara, he gave you a benediction.
He told you that you will have one daughter and that you should name her ‘Santa’ And that
you should marry her to the great sage R’sya’sringa. And this same sage R’sya’sringa, he would
perform a sacrifice to Vishnu and from that you would have four illustrious and glorious sons.
So my feeling is that you should go and find R’sya’aringa. What happened is, after he has this
beautiful daughter Santa, there was a king whose name was Romapada. He was the king of the
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Anga dynasty and he had no children. So Dasaratha was feeling very much for him. So he gave
him his only daughter. And she grew up as the princess of Maharaja Romapada. And Maharaja
Romapada, under Dasaratha’s directions got her married to R’sya’sringa. So Dasaratha
Maharaja went to that place and there was a warm friendship and after one week, he brought
R’sya’sringa back to Ayodhya. And then in the presence of all the great saints and sages and all
the friends of Dasarath, he began to exclaim his great distress. And R’sya’sringa, he replied, “
My dear King,” he said,” I will perform an Asvamedha yajna to Lord Hari and I promise you
that the Supreme Lord Himself will appear in four forms as your sons.” So then he began to
perform the sacrifice and when it was time to offer oblations, to the various Demigods, all the
demigods appeared on the scene headed by Lord Brahma. And they all partook up their share
of the sacrifice. At that time all the demigods approached Brahmaji, they took the opportunity
and with folded hands and tears in their eyes they began to explain Brahmaji, “ The great
Raksasa, the blood sucking demons Ravana, he is completely causing havoc throughout entire
universe. He is killing innocent people, sucking their blood. He is destroying the sacrifice of the
Brahmanas. He is harassing the demigods, exploiting their property. In this way the whole
universe is in great anxiety and he is so powerful because you have given him the benediction
that no one can defeat him. So Brahmaji, please do something.” At that time Lord Brahma
began to think what has to be done. And he began to pray to Lord Vishnu. And just at that
time, from behind the clouds a most beautiful and effulgent sight was beheld by everyone in the
assembly house of Maharaja Dasaratha. There is shining like millions of suns, Lord Narayana
descending on His bird carrier Garuda. And Lord Brahma began to pray, “ Lord Narayana this
demon raksasa Ravana is causing so much distress. You are the only one who can annihilate
him”. And Lord Vishnu explained that, “ I will soon come. I will appear as the 4 sons of
Dasaratha and Ravana will be killed.” And after confirming the fulfillment of their desires, Lord
Narayana again ascended to Vaikuntha and disappeared. And then Lord Brahma, tene brahma
hrida adi kavaye …. after receiving the information from Krishna within his heart, he explained
that, “All You Demigods, Vishnu wants you to help him in this great battle against Ravana. So
you should all expand yourselves and take birth as monkeys in the jungles of Kishkinda. And
you should expand yourself with all the power and all the strength you have now. And very
soon the supreme Lord Hari will come and together He will relieve the earth of the burden of
Ravana and his raksasa dynasty.” At that time all the demigods left. They all returned to their
abode and they all began making their plan. First the King of Heaven, Indra, he expanded
himself and begot a child. His name was Bali. Bali possessed all the strength and potency of his
father, Indra. And then the sun god, Visvasvan, he begot the most illustrious and faithful
Sugriva who is equal to him on all respects and Kuvera the great treasurer of the demigods, he
begot the great monkey child Gandhamadana. And Agni, he expanded himself as Susens,
Brihaspati expanded himself as Nala and the Asvini Kumaras expanded himself, the two of
them as Mayinda and Davida. In this way these monkeys were very powerful. They could lift
mountains. They could make the earth tremble by their footsteps. At the end of the sacrifice,
R’sya’sringa took the mahaprasad and told King Dasaratha that, “Give this to your wives and
whoever drinks it, Lord Narayana will become their son”. So first Dasaratha divided this
prasad half. He gave the first half to his principle wife Kaushalya and she drank it. And then he
took the other half and divided that in half and gave half to Sumitra and he took the other half
and divided it into half and gave half to Kaikeya and gave the other half again to Sumitra. Very
soon, after drinking the mahaprasad, all the three mothers became pregnant. This is the
transcendental nature of the appearance of the Lord. He does not have to come to this world
through the same medium that we do. Rama was born from the union of his mother eating
mahaprasad. And one year after the sacrifice, on the most auspicious time when all the
constellations were in perfect order, the supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as the son of
Kaushalya in His most beautiful form of Sri Rama. And then Bharat was born of Kaikeyi and
Laksmana was born of Sumitra and his brother was Satrugana and these 4 children were none
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other than the 4 expansions of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradumnya and Anirudha. They were all
Vaikuntha murtis of Sri Hari. It is described that, they were so beautiful. All auspicious signs
decorated all of them. But of all of them Rama was the most beautiful. His eyes were like lotus
flowers and His every limb was delicate and soft. But at the same time powerful and strong. His
arms extended to His knees. It is described that on His feet and on His arms were the signs of
the conch, the disc, the lotus flower and the club. And Vasista Muni performed the name giving
ceremony. And when these beautiful sons appeared as the princes of Dasaratha, there was great
celebration throughout the city of Ayodhya for years and years and years. Everyone was
waiting for Dasaratha’s child to be born. So Dasaratha Maharaj, he was giving away tens and
thousands of beautiful cows with golden ornaments, golden hoods and golden horns to the
Brahmanas. He was giving mountains of grains, beautiful jewels, silks in charity to the
vaishnavas. He was preparing sumptuous wonderful prasad and delivering it to all living
beings. In this way there was a celebration and all the inhabitants of Ayodhya, they were
singing and dancing. It was a festival that no one had ever seen. All celebrating the beautiful
appearance of Sri Rama. Actually this is the way we should all celebrate the appearance of
Sri Rama. The residents of Ayodhya, it is described that they were singing, they were dancing,
they were just joyful eating nice prasad, distributing nice prasad, giving gifts, receiving gifts.
Because everyone’s mind was fully immersed fully in the beautiful form of this child Sri Rama,
they completely forgot the miseries of material existence. As They began to grow older, it is
described They began to learn how to walk and the three mothers, Sumitra, Kaikeyi and
Kaushalya, their love knew no bounds. And Dasaratha Maharaja, sharing that love, he was fully
satisfied 24 hours a day simply seeing the beautiful form of Rama. Indeed every inhabitant of
Ayodhya shared the same love for Rama. As He grew older He became most learned in the
Vedas, the most expert archer, the most expert charioteer and the whole city was only waiting
when He will be coronated as King. It is described that when Sri Ramachandra was 16 years
old, the great sage Vishvamitra Muni came to the Kingdom of Ayodhya. Vishvamitra Muni was
living in the jungles. He had no material possessions. He was a hermit. He was a beggar.
Maharaja Dasaratha was the king of the world. But when Vishvamitra Muni came to the
Kingdom, Dasaratha greeted him with great humility and devotion. He got up from his throne
and put Vishvamitra on his throne. Then he washed his feet and worshipped his feet. You see
this is the secret that makes great kings great. The great kings understood that the greatest
kings are this who have renounced all attachments to this material world. You see the crown
of the king is considered insignificant to the opulence of the robes of the renunciate because
the opulence of the renunciate is the greatest opulence. One who conquers all the land
is not as great as the man who conquers all of his senses.. So one who has conquered
his senses, he is considered grtaetest. That’s why a king is called maharaj but a renunciate is
also called Maharaj., great king. But there are different kinds of kings, one who wears the crown
and who either wears the bark of the tree or a simple dress of a renunciate. But of the two
Maharajs, the qualification of the king Maharaj is that he bows down and worships before
the renunciates as the menial, who have given their lives in the service of God. So Maharaj
Dasaratha, he understood that the real treasure of his whole Kingdom and of his whole life was
completely dependent on the blessings of the great souls. Sometimes people think that those
in the renounced orders are crazy. But Maharaj Dasaratha was not thinking that about
Vishvamitra Muni that, “ Why don’t you have a job?” In fact Maharaj Dasaratha was just
waiting of the day when he will give up his job and be like that. But he knew that it was more
difficult to do that than maintain his job as the king of the world, the hard job; so he
worshipped Vishvamitra. This is the glory of a Grihasta, is that he humbles himself before
those who have sacrificed every thing in the service of the Lord.. So Dasaratha Maharaj said
to Vishvamitra Muni, “ I want to offer you everything in my kingdom, whatever you like is
yours” Now you have to be very careful when you say like that. He said, “ I will offer you
anything you like. Whatever you like is yours; after all I am the representative of God. I am the
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King. I can fulfill any desire you have” Vishvamitra Muni looked at Dasaratha Maharaj. He
said, “Yes, you are king and I know that you are true to your word. In the forest where we are
performing our sacrifice, there are two very very powerful asuras, rakshasas who are constantly
spoiling our spiritual activities by contaminating the sacrificial arena. Their names are Marica
and Subahu. I want to take Lord Rama, your son into the forest because it is only He who can
destroy these Demons”. My God !!! When Dasaratha heard this he was stunned, “ how can you
ask this? Who are these demons?….. I will take care of them. I am a Maharathi. I will lead my
armies. I will take one of the divisions of soldiers. We will destroy the soldiers. But leave Rama
at home. What is the problem? Let me do it. But Rama is just a young child. He is hardly 16
years old He is not very experienced at fighting. He is still learning His lessons in school. He
has a very frail and young body. How can he fight these asuras?” Vishvamitra said, “ they are
the associates of Ravana.” And when Dasaratha heard it, he became very afraid, “No one can
touch Ravana or his associates. They are very powerful. Even I cannot stand up against them.
Even Indra cannot standup against them’ he said, “Take my whole kingdom, take my
everything but not Rama. I cannot bear separation from him I cannot give you this.” Upon
hearing this Vishvamitra became very angry. He became so angry that the earth began to
tremble. He said,” Dasaratha Maharaj, if you relinquish truth, if you go back on your words, all
your piety and your entire kingdom and the entire fame of your dynasty will be finished today.
I will leave this place and along with me, will be the end of everything in your life.” At that
time Vasista Muni told King Dasaratha, “This Vishvamitra is very powerful. If you do not want
to offend him, give him your son. Your son is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one
going to defeat Him and even if you think he will, if He is under the care of Vishvamitra Muni,
he can destroy all the raksasas single handedly. He is the most powerful of all sages. The only
reason that he is asking for your son is, he wants your son to be glorified.” So on the advice of
Vasista, Dasaratha said, “All right Please take care of Him” And then Vishwamitra Muni took
Rama into the forest. As they were wandering through the forests, they came into a jungle and
this jungle was very very mysterious. There was practically no life in this jungle except fearful
beasts and vultures. And Rama, He said, “ What is happening? Why is everything like this?”
Vishvamitra told him that there was a great female raksasi of the name Tadaka. She was the
mother of Marica. He said, “At one time this forest was a great holy place, where great saints
and sages would come and perform sacrifice. But she has simply come and she has destroyed
everything. She eats everything in sight. She loves the taste of blood. She absolutely horrified
everyone with her deep-formed features and her ghastly roar. Rama you should kill this
demon.” So Rama took His bow and He just pulled the string and it made such a loud noise
that all the raksasas who were the associates of Tadaka became very afraid. She became
outraged, “who has come?” and she began screaming and roaring and she came into the forest
and attacked Rama and Laxmana. They were covered with dust, a cloud of dust. And then she
began to shower stones and rocks upon them and she was screaming in loud sound. At that
time Rama took His bow and He cut off her two arms. She was even more angry & she went up
into the sky and Laxman cut off her nose and her ears. And she began to shower all sorts of
abominable things, showering them with rocks and stones. In this way she was so angered, at
last she plunged at Rama with the speed of Indra’s thunderbolt and Ramachandra took His
celebrated bow and shot an arrow into her breast & she feel down screaming and in a moment
she died. And everyone was very happy. Then the forest became an auspicious place and they
took rest that night. The next morning they came to the hermitage of Vishvamitra and they
began to perform a sacrifice and Rama and Laxman stayed up day and night with Vishvamitra
awaiting for Marica and Subahu to come. They stayed up for 6 days and on the 6th day, the
final day, all of a sudden the sky became very dark and they heard screaming sound. And
Marici and Subahu, very very powerful raksasas came down into the sacrificial arena & began
to throw stool and pus, urine and bloody human mutilated torsos all over the sacrificial arena.
Rama took His arrow and He shot it into Marica and it was so powerful that it threw him 800
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miles in the middle of the ocean. Then He took another arrow and it pierced Subahu’s heart and
he died instantly. And then He took another arrow of Vayu & it scattered all other raksasas to
flee for their lives. Thus Vishvamitra was very pleased. And then Rama approached
Vishvamitra Muni, who was now His guru and He said, “Is there any other service I can render
for you?” In the evening Rama would massage the legs of His spiritual master along with
Laxman. They would go out and collect wood for their spiritual master to perform his sacrifices.
Indeed they would perform the most menial and insignificant services. And every day they
would inquire with great humility from Vishvamitra Muni to instruct them on the goal of life &
the science of the Vedas. Some people ask, “Do we really need a guru?” Ramachandra
appeared how to show every human being how he must live. Do you think jagat guru bhagvan
Sri Ramachandra needs a guru? He is the knower of past, present and future. He is the author
of the Vedas, He is the goal of the Vedas. But just to show us; whoever you are, however
you are, you must humble yourself & submit yourself to your spiritual master. Some
people say, “I do not need a guru. I know Krishna”. Even Krishna, He will not even say that.
Even Krishna accepts guru. So the supreme Lord, Who is the enjoyer of all sacrifices bhaogtaram
yagya tapasam sarva loka maheshwaram, Who is the proprietor of everything, Who is the master of
all living beings, to set the example for us, every day and every night, He would massage His
guru’s lotus feet. He would inquire submissively from him and His goal was simply to
please his spiritual master. So Vishvamitra being very pleased, you see when the guru is
very pleased with the disciple, the guru shares his life with the disciple. So Vishvamitra
began to take Rama and Laxmana on a pilgrimage to forest. And one day they came to a very
very ancient city of Mithila. When they saw the beauty of the city, they were struck with
wonder. How clean and how fragrant were the flowers and how beautiful and charming were
the gardens in the forest and how peaceful and pure hearted were all the residents. Vishvamitra
Muni began to explain that; “This is the great king Janak who rules over this holy land of
Mithila”. He explained that, “In this city there is the mighty bow of Lord Shankara and people
have been coming for years and years from all over the universe to try to lift this bow and bend
it, because whoever does this, attains the most beautiful Goddess of fortune, Sitadevi as their
wife in marriage. Now let us come into this city of Mithila and see the beauty of the place.” It is
described that as they came into the kingdom, when word came that Vishvamitra Muni has
arrived, King Janaka and all his ministers with great devotion worshipped his lotus feet and
took them into their palace. After some time, Rama & Laxman with the permission of their guru
began to wander to see the beauty of the great city. They came into a particular garden, which
was the garden of Sita. In that garden, there was a temple of Goddess Parvati and Sitadevi
would daily pray to her and worship. When Sita’s friends saw the beauty of Lord
Ramachandra, they were immediately struck with wonder. “How can any one be as beautiful as
Him? He is the perfect match for our Sitadevi” So they went and got Sita. “We want to show
you something. Come here.” And Sita, She looked through the bushes. When She saw the
beautiful form of Rama, immediately the eternal love between the Lord and His eternal consort
was awakened within Her heart. And then Sri Rama when He saw the beauty of Sita, that
unlimited, infinite divine love awakened within His heart. And when they looked at one
another, Sita being very shy immediately looked towards His lotus feet and fixed Her eyes on
His lotus feet. And through Her eyes She engraved the form of His lotus feet within the core of
Her heart. In this way, in the hearts of Sita and Rama, the seed of love began to grow. At that
time Vishvamitra, he asked Janaka, “Where is this great bow, tell us about it.” Rama had joined
them at that time with Laxman and Janaka said that, “At one time, Lord Shiva, He gave as a
gift; this great bow to the demigods. And they gave it to my fore fathers. This bow is so
powerful that no man has ever been to even lift it. But I have made a vow.” He said, “One day
when I was watching my beautiful little daughter, Sita cleaning, She lifted this bow, She dusted
under it and put it back. How is it possible? Even the greatest demigods, the greatest raksasas,
the greatest kings cannot lift it. And my little daughter lifted it. So I vowed that it will take the
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man who strings this bow marry my daughter. But I think, unfortunately that my daughter will
have to die a widow because there is no one on the whole universe who can lift this bow.”
Vishvamitra Muni said that, “But Rama can lift this bow; you bring it.” For thousands of men
had to drag this bow into the assembly and thousands of men came into the arena to see. At
that time Rama, He effortlessly lifted the bow and pulled the string and the bow cracked. And
when the bow broke, it made such a tumultuous and thunderous sound that all the universe
began to shake. At that time the beautiful Goddess Sita, Whose heart was fixed on the lotus feet
of Sri Rama, She put the garland of victory around His lotus neck. And the most beautiful and
wonderful reunion of the Lord with His eternal consort brings great joy to the life of devotees.
You see a devotee’s pleasure is in giving Krishna pleasure, in giving Rama pleasure.
The residents of Ayodhya, the residents of Mithila and all great devotees of the Lord they are
constantly in transcendental bliss because their only pleasure is in seeing the pleasure of Rama.
The perfection of life is to forget, “What do I like, what do I want, what do I need” and to
simply think in terms of, “What will make please Rama?” So to the extent, we give up our
own selfish interest in life and make our own pleasure in pleasing Krishna, to that
extent we become transcendental to all the miseries of the world. This is bhakti.
Understand that the residents of Mithila and Ayodhya were not jnanis, they were not yogis.
They were ordinary people. They had jobs, they were merchants, they were politicians, they
were warriors, they were housewives. But they were the most fortunate and the most highly
spiritually advanced. Why? Because their only pleasure in life was giving in life was giving
pleasure to Sita and Rama. Of course, we will be happy to continue on the narration of
Ramayana, but I think it will become very late. So one drop from the ocean of the Ramayana is
all that we have time to take this evening. But the real message that we would like for
everyone to understand is what is of real value in our life? To put aside all things that we
consider are valuable and thrive for those things that Rama thinks is valuable. It is
said that when you decorate the deity of the Lord, because you find such great satisfaction,
you loose all desires to decorate your own dying body. When you cook nice food for your own
fastidious senses. When you work and offer as sacrifice the fruits of your action for the pleasure
of the lord, you become indifferent to your own insatiable lusty desires for lusty desires for
more and more fame, more and more powe,r more and more prestige, more and more wealth.
By watering the root of the tree, we become satisfied. Rama is the root. He is the root of all
existence. So by hearing these transcendental pastimes of the Lord, let us understand how the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is appearing in such a wonderful and attracting way just
so that we will be attracted to please Him, to glorify Him and in the association of devotees, His
message comes to life in our heart. So let us associate with devotees. Let us follow in the
footsteps of the residents of Ayodhya and the residents of Mithila. And on this most Holy day
of Ramnavmi, let us reconfirm our vows in life, let us reconfirm the direction of life, we want to
strive for. Whatever your occupation, whatever your position in society- the goal is to please
Krishna, to please Rama. Even if the whole world hates, if you please Rama, your life is
perfect. But if the whole world glorifies you, but Lord Rama is not pleased then your life is a
useless waste. And what pleases the Lord more than anything else? In the age of Kali yug, it is
described, krsna varnam tvisa krsnam sangopangastra prasadam yajnaih sankirtanam-prayair
yajanti hi sumedhas. By performing the sacrifice of attentively chanting the Holy name. More
than anything else, this thing gives pleasure to Krishna. It is so simple. You may say, “Why is
He pleased by such a simple thing as we chanting His Holy name?” Because in Kaliyuga that
is the best you can do. To please Him the way they did in other yugas, it is impossible for you
today. But if you simply chant His holy names and associate with devotees, there is nothing
that will please Him more than this. It is an opportunity to please Ramachandra, as the
residents of Mihtila and Ayodhya did on his birth, on Sita’s birth. Thank you very much.
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You are nothing but a servant, eternally
Krishna Consciousness is so rare and so great a benediction, because it puts right in the
forefront, as the all in all, the essence, which is secretly concealed in practically all other
religious systems and it makes it the only emphasis, and that is, ‘’jivera svarupa hoy krsnera
nitya dasa’’ That you are nothing but a servant, eternally. You are part and parcel of Krishna.
And through humility and devotion and pridelessness, you can approach God. And therefore
devotees strive with proper association, to perform their spiritual activities in this state of
consciousness. We do not want recognition for what we do. We simply want to please Krishna
and please His devotees.
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We should not be seeking recognition, we should be seeking service
This is a great pitfall. Because here we are trying to give up so many things of the world, living
such moral, virtuous lives, performing so many activities but the tendency of our mind is we
want recognition for what we do. In other words we still want to be the enjoyer. And this
influence is so deeply steeped within our heart, to want to be the enjoyer, to not want to be the
servant. We give up all the gross forms of sense gratification. We decorate the Deities; we want
people to think, ‘‘just see how wonderfully he has decorated the Deities.’’ In this way what we
are actually doing is in the form of the Deity worship, we are actually trying to decorate the
worshipable deity of our own false ego!!! The Deity on the altar, is the means by which we can
approach our real worshipable deity, our pride and decorate very nicely!!! In this way we are
trying not to decorate Krishna, but our own prestige. We must be very careful of this. We
should not be seeking recognition. We should be seeking service. And how to overcome that? It
is not easy. But we must pray, ‘’Krishna. Please protect me. If some good result comes, let it be
for Your pleasure. If some recognition, does come to me for this purpose, please, Krishna,
protect me. It is for You. I am Your servant. I am not the enjoyer. I am meant for Your
enjoyment.’
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An essential part of our sadhana
The principle of service is one of the most essential aspects of our sadhana. If you think that
you have chanted your 16 rounds and followed the four regulative principles and you have
eaten only Krishna prasad and so your sadhana is finished for the day, that is not correct;
because the austerity of being a humble servant is an essential part of your sadhana which
must be performed whether you feel like it or not. In the vidhi marga of sadhana, we practise
sadhana as an austerity because it is an order. In the raga marga, because there are no material
inclinations in our life, we have a spontaneous desire at all times, 24 hours a day, to chant the
names of the Lord, to hear the names of the Lord, to serve the devotees and the Lord. But that is
not something we can artificially imitate. We have to admit where we really are.
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Always aspire to practise sadhana
We have to admit where we really are. We have to perform the appropriate austerity. So, some
day you may feel so much natural affection and desire to serve the devotees. So you must serve
the devotees. You must serve the Lord. And some days because it is the nature of the mind,
you hate the devotees; you cannot tolerate the sight of them and there are so many other
interests you may have where you can possess so much material gain. In such situations it is
our austerity to act according to the sacred principle of trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna.
What is the greatest tapasaya of our life? To always aspire to practise sadhana regardless of
our particular condition of our mind and it is that type of endeavour, which is pleasing to
Krishna and to the spiritual master. And therefore it is our endeavour that enables us to receive
the greatest mercy and it is that mercy on which our spiritual lives are utterly depending upon.
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The impression of what we do is influencing our consciousness and our whole life
When Prahlad Maharaj was asked by his friends, ‘why are you telling us to follow the path of
Bhagawat Dharma, we are children; you should not preach such high philosophy to children.
Children means we should study and play. We go to school, we study then we go and play
with our friends and eat, that's all’. (Maharaj asks the children.) They will not agree in this
assembly of so many people. When they leave the room they may agree. Play is good but it
should help to remember Krishna. Prahlad Maharaj told his friends that the earlier you start
your spiritual life; the better. Prahlad Maharaj was speaking to his friends who were only Five
years old. Priyavrat! How old are you? Nine, Eight, Thirteen. Compared to Prahlad's friends,
you are an old man, grand old man. When you are Five years old and you see a boy of Thirteen
you say O God! He is so big. Prahlad told them, “Five Years! It is already getting late. Now is
the time because death can come at any moment." But even if death does not come for
sometime the impression of what we do is influencing our consciousness and our whole life.
Some of the elder gentlemen and ladies who come to Krishna consciousness later in their life
think, ‘what have I done in my life. I have to undo whatever I have done in my life. I have to
remove all the garbage that I have collected in my mind, I have to somehow empty it, why did I
not keep it empty and fill it with Krishna by chanting the holy name, "Hare Krishna Hare
Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Hare Hare.'
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What is Vaikuntha consciousness?
The more we have, the more we are inclined to be envious of others. Why? Because if you work
so hard for a high position, you are that much more attached to what you have and you are
that much fearful that you may lose it and you are that much envious of someone who may
take it from you. Unless we understand that it is all the property of Krishna and that I am not
the doer. There can be no envy when we are in that consciousness. Otherwise whatever we are
excelling in, we want to be the best and we do not like anyone else to compete with us. If
someone appears that they would be better, then it is intolerable. When we have a position
where we enjoy some sense gratification of prestige, we cannot tolerate somebody competing.
This is not the Vaishnava way. We want to do the best we can to encourage everyone else to do
better. That is the Vaikuntha consciousness.
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The choice in our life
Those things that can be used in God’s service for the upliftment of others should never be
rejected as being material. We should renounce the greedy mentality in which we are
utilizing the things of this world. Everything in this world is potentially good or bad
according to our consciousness. Education is good or bad according to our consciousness.
Knowledge is the greatest power on earth. If that knowledge is in the heart of an impure
person, he is going to use that knowledge to cause great pollution, contamination and distress
within this world as we see within the society. If the same knowledge is within the heart of
someone who is in divine consciousness, he will utilise every bit of that knowledge for the true
welfare of all living beings in the loving service of Krishna. This is the type of renunciation that
is taught in Gita and all the great scriptures of this world. That is the choice in our life. Not to
give up the things of this world but to use them in the spirit of devotion.
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When our heart finds real satisfaction
The servant doesn’t want to be better than the master. The servant wants to be subservient to
the master. In our Vaishnava tradition, it is our culture to call everyone ‘Prabhu’. ‘Prabhu’
means master. And we are ‘das’, servant. So we should actually be so enthusiastic, to do
everything we do, so nicely, just to inspire everyone else to do even better than us. And when
they do, we should become jubilant. We should dance in ecstasy. This is the joy of the soul.
When we try to maintain some material pride or prestige, our ego finds some satisfaction,
which is mixed with fear, frustration and envy and our heart finds no satisfaction. But when we
are actually pleased to see others doing wonderfully, then our heart finds real satisfaction. Until
we come to that platform of being a servant, we cannot really experience the joy of Krishna
consciousness.
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Our goal is to please Krishna. …..…………….....Nectarean Mellow
As long as we are still trying to hold on that “I am the best”, we can’t experience the bliss, the
ecstasy of Krishna consciousness. But when we are in the mood of Vaikuntha, in the mood of a
servant, wanting to see everyone excel, then we can experience real pleasure, real happiness
because Krishna is very pleased with that mentality. Krishna is not pleased with your
position. Krishna is not pleased with how you do things. Krishna is pleased with the
humility of your consciousness in which you are trying to do those things. And our
purpose in life, as devotees, is not to become famous as the best garland maker or the best
mrdanga player. Our goal is to please Krishna. And Krishna is pleased when we perform our
actions in a mood of a humble servant of the servant of the Lord.
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All sadhus and saints; they all taught the same thing
Sure as death we all must meet that fate today or tomorrow. So what is death? What is life? The greatest
thinkers throughout history have pondered upon this subject. In the Christian world, Jesus Christ taught
that the greatest goal beyond death is to attain eternal life. What is the use if you gain the whole world
but you lose your eternal life? Mohammed explained that until you can learn to face death in this life
you cannot know the true of eternity. And Krishna explains in the Gita; Janma mrtyu jara vyadhi dukha
doshanudarsanam That a wise man is a person who understands the solutions to the problems of birth,
old age, disease and death. And Lord Buddha taught that the conclusions and the goal of the eight fold
Buddhist dharma is to attain that state of Consciousness beyond the cycle of birth and death. And
Shankaracharya taught the same. So somebody was recently telling me that, “I do not believe that there
is anything beyond death and I do not believe that there is a God”. So I explained that you have a right
to your belief; that is your birth right as a human being, but consider this these great personalities as
Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhavacharya, Nimbarkacharya, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu every
great saint and sadhu of India, great souls such as Jesus Christ, Saint Francis of Assisi, Mohammad, all
his followers, Buddha, all his followers, they all shared a particular quality that was consistent amongst
one another, they were all perfectly in peace with themselves, they were all sacrificing their very lives for
the upliftment of others. They were merciful, compassionate, not only that but they all spoke of a God
and they all spoke of a soul, which was beyond birth and death. So the question is are all these great
persons from all cultures throughout the world; Are they in illusion or are they liars? Have they all come
to cheat us? They were all ascetics; they were not receiving anything in return for their services, for their
sacrifices to the upliftment of humanity. How are they coming to cheat us, they were simply giving,
giving, giving and we are not speaking of one or two, but tens and thousands of sadhus and saints
throughout the world, throughout history, they all taught the same thing, how is it possible?
Thousands of years of gap, thousands of miles of gap between their appearances and they all taught the
sane thing. Were they all inherently cheaters trying to misguide us or were they all in illusion, were they
all under the spell of believing something that cannot exist and if they were under a spell of illusion how
is it possible that they all displayed the same characteristics which are the most virtuous and glorious
characteristics that had ever been manifested by human beings throughout history. So we should open
our minds and open our hearts to accept the possibility that what they may be saying has some validity
and truth. Because after all the word, ‘education’ which you are all obviously taking very seriously
giving your most youthful energetic years of your lives simply to be educated, atleast, we should know
what the word education means. Education comes from the Latin word, ‘educari’ which explains that
process by which we bring out that which is inherent within us, that is the real meaning of education.
Education doesn’t simply mean to whitewash our brains with external knowledge. It means to bring out
the inherent knowledge within us.
303
When Krsna is pleased?
Krishna is pleased when we perform our actions in a mood of a humble servant of the servant
of the Lord. And we find in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s lila that this is a constant thing.
Whenever Sri Chaitanya would give special mercy to a devotee, everyone would simply glorify
that devotee and would be jubilant to see the devotee getting special mercy. No one was
thinking, “I should be getting the special mercy. Why him? Why her? Why not me?’’. When we
see that the Lord is giving special mercy to someone, we should be pleased. If Krishna is
pleased with the activities and bestows special blessings, we should be pleased that Krishna is
pleased. And when Krishna sees that we are pleased, that He is pleased because someone has
done very nice service, then Krishna becomes pleased with us. If He sees that we are envious
and competitive, then He is displeased with us.
304
You all become better preachers than me
Ultimately, are you doing your service to decorate your false ego or are you doing it to glorify
Krishna? That is actually an important question. You may not have asked, but you should ask
because; this is the nature of the material mind even in Krishna consciousness. We please
Krishna when we are actually trying to please Him and please His devotees when we find great
love and satisfaction in seeing others advance, even better than us. Srila Prabhupada said, “My
prayer is that you all become better preachers than me.’’ Why? Because if more people become
preachers, more people become Krishna conscious and more Krishna becomes satisfied.
305
What makes our devotional service pleasing to the Lord
Srila Prabhupada and the great acharyas were not preaching simply to become famous that “I
am the greatest and no one should do what I have done after me.’’ Srila Prabhupada was
praying that every single one of his thousands of disciples would become better preachers than
him, so that the whole world would become Krishna conscious. And that will give Krishna
happiness. And that is the goal of our life - to give Krishna happiness. So whatever we are
doing, it is for Krishna’s satisfaction. It is to spread the glories of this movement. And if more
people could do more, the more Krishna could be happy. And that is our only concern. And it
is that consciousness that makes our devotional service pleasing to the Supreme Personality of
Godhead
306
Be a first class devotee
Maintaining proper image is important but not for own egoistic glorification of prestige. Why
do we want to have an image in the eyes of the devotees? Because, the better our image, the
better the service we can render. If you are following the principles nicely and you are
enthusiastic to take part in all spiritual activities and you are humbly trying to serve the
devotees, then that image of being the humble and sincere Vaishnava will encourage so
many other people. The most important service you can render to the other devotees by being a
good example. An example means image. But we are not doing it to be glorified. We are doing
it for service. The spiritual master wants first class devotee to encourage all others. If you are
not a first class devotee, how will you encourage others to be first class? It is your service to
your spiritual master and all the Vaishnavas to be first class, humble servant of the servant,
strictly following the principles, enthusiastic, always chanting kirtan, hearing the philosophy,
serving Gurudev and serving all devotees. But this is not a material image. We are not doing for
our own profit. We are not doing for our own adoration or our own distinction. We are doing it
because it is our service to our own spiritual master, for his pleasure and also because, in this
condition, we can do the most.
307
Give the best time of your life to God
When my Guru Maharaj A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada came to India after traveling
all over the world preaching Krishna consciousness; right here in Bombay, he repeated such a
pure message to all of you. I remember how he appealed to the residents of Bombay again and
again and again. On his behalf I would like to repeat the message. Srila Prabhupada had told
you that India is the most important country in the world because the Vedic culture, the
highest, the most scientific spiritual culture in all of existence is in India and if the people of
India lose it, forget it, due to negligence, then the whole world will be hopeless. And of all
places in India, the most important place is Bombay. It is the most important city because it
has the greatest influence over the entire country. And the most important people in Bombay
are the affluent people in Bombay who have great influence over other’s lives. You have the
greatest responsibility in the entire planet earth, to do something for the world. Don’t be selfish.
Don’t be foolish. Utilise your life as a great example of how to be a devotee of God, as an
Industrialist, as a businessman, as a teacher, as a housewife, as a student. Teach the world by
your example. Change India and utilise what gifts God has given you to help establish Sanatana
dharma on earth. Everyday that goes by, after 40 years, you are losing strength, you are losing
energy. When you are an old man or an old woman, your intelligence doesn’t work very well.
You have hardly any physical strength. Don’t save the most useless part of your life for God.
This was Prahlad’s message for his classmates. Give the best time of your life to God when
you can do the most. This is responsibility. Srila Prabhupada appealed. “This Krishna
consciousness movement is not a new concocted idea. It is the very essence and basis of Indian
culture. It is the pure message of Sanatana dharma being humbly presented through disciplic
succession by the great acharyas. The most important people for spreading this movement are
the people of Bombay, because you have the influence to make a big difference in India, by your
example and by your participation. And that can change the phase of the world. And that is the
greatest need. And that is what the Lord is expecting of all of us. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
said, “For anyone who takes birth in this bharatvarsha, it is your first duty to God to perform
the greatest welfare for all humanity.” What is the greatest welfare work? To establish God
consciousness, to establish morality and spirituality through the purification of minds and
hearts through the process of chanting God’s Holy Names.
308
A vaisnava is always forgiving
The nature of a great personality is, he is always thinking of others’ welfare. He is never
thinking simply in terms of I and mine. The nature of a qualified brahmin or a Vaisnava is that
he is always forgiving. He never wants to offend anyone. And if anyone offends him, he will
never take it seriously. He is not vengeful. He is compassionate. And therefore we can
understand who really is a serious devotee by this quality. When devotees are forgiving, there
can be great harmony amongst them.
309
Willingness to forget and forgive
In this age of Kali we should all be very meticulously conscious, not to speak or act in a way
that will have negative effects on anyone’s life. Because we are responsible. Srila Prabhupada
explains, just like in the forest, the wind blows, and sticks of wood bamboos rub together by the
effects of the wind and that friction creates forest fire; similarly, just by the nature of this age of
Kali, even if everyone has the best possible intentions, still we make mistakes. Still small
offenses may happen. And what maintains the dignity and the sanctity of the love amongst the
devotees? Their willingness to forget and forgive.
310
Who is really a devotee in the true sense?
We simply should be willing to forget in a moment any offense that is done to us. And we
should be forgiving that person before that offense is even complete! We should be in the
process of forgiving, as it is happening. And when it is done we should continue forgiving. This
is Vaishnava. trnad api sunicena tarora api sahisnuna amanina mana dena kirtaniya sada hari.
Humble like the straw in the street, tolerant like a tree, anxious to give all respect to others, no
anticipation, no expectation for any respect for oneself. This is a devotee. To the degree you
have these qualities, you are a devotee. To the degree, you do not have these qualities; you are
not really a devotee in the true sense. So a Vaishnava aspires for and gradually develops
these qualities. And if you have this consciousness, then who will you ever offend in your
life? So we must cultivate this spirit and we must be very systematically, at every moment, be
attentive to follow this principle of this most important shloka, trnad api sunicena.
311
Never misuse the sacred service that Krishna has given
A devotee should never misuse the sacred service that Krishna has given him. In an emergency
situation the devotee may have to resort to duplicity or diplomacy just to protect what is
Krishna’s but it should be only in an emergency situation. Otherwise the tendency is; we
allow the seeds of the weeds of our past conditionings of simply being dishonest just to make
our life easier or for our own sense gratification. We allow them to grow and just out of
convenience we become duplicitous with other devotees. We become duplicitous just because it
makes things smoother for our own aims to be fulfilled. This of course is sinful and offensive
and there will be a reaction. There will be painful reaction.
312
Devotees respect the law on every level
Acting dishonestly will greatly disturb our spiritual progress. In fact a devotee of the Lord
honors material nature because he understands that this nature is working under Krishna’s
direction. A devotee sees Krishna within nature. Therefore a devotee will never defy the laws of
nature unless it is an emergency situation, for a higher cause. Otherwise the principles what we
consider as mundane morality are held with high esteem and reality by every devotee. It is not
that when we become a devotee we become above the law. We respect the law on every level.
313
You cannot love someone unless you trust him
Srila Rupa Goswami explains that one of the most important principles in devotional service is
not be duplicitous. A pure devotee has no duplicity. In fact, sometimes Srila Prabhupada even
defines Krishna consciousness as that state where there is no duplicity. As long as we are
attached to sense gratification there is always this very strong inclination to be duplicitous - to
say one thing and mean another thing. Srila Rupa Goswami says “the devotee is always
straightforward in his dealings.” And in this way people trust him. Where there is duplicity,
there can be no trust. You cannot trust a duplicitous person because what he says, you don’t
know what he means!! He has proven it again and again and again. And this movement is
based on the two principles - love and trust. You cannot love someone unless you trust him.
When you trust someone naturally love develops for a person you trust. And where there is
duplicity there can be no trust and therefore there can be no love. This principle of simple
living and high thinking really in essence what it means is -- no duplicity.
314
Create the atmosphere of love and trust
Your living a simple life means you don’t complicate things by trying to manipulate others’
minds or trying to manipulate circumstances to achieve personal goals; even though they may
be in the name of Krishna. That is our tendency. Because we are devotees, we like to use
Krishna’s name for anything we want to achieve. So we must learn to respect the laws and
principles of society understanding that ultimately these principles are coming from Krishna.
And in Krishna’s service we must do the needful. We should not be duplicitous, especially in
our dealings with one another, what to speak of being duplicitous with outsiders. Especially
with devotees we have to be very careful to vanquish this tendency of duplicity and be very
straightforward and if Krishna intervenes and specifically signals in an emergency situation,
then we can act. But then it is not duplicity. Then it is service to the Absolute Truth. And to
discriminate between the two is very essential because if we do not discriminate then what
will happen is that, it will destroy the entire fibre of love and trust and our whole movement
will become something material and superficial. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy will not
shine through us unless we take the instruction of Srila Rupa Goswami to be simple, non
duplicitous, straightforward and create this atmosphere of love and trust.
315
Spiritual familiarity breeds Krishna consciousness
Material familiarity will breed contempt. It is a law. If our relationship with devotees is based
on material considerations, gradually our relationships will break down. We will lose respect
for one another. We will lose enthusiasm for being with one another. But Srila Prabhupada
taught us that spiritual familiarity breeds Krishna consciousness. If the basis of our
relationship with devotees is focused on humble service, on hearing and chanting, on serving
guru’s instructions, then our relationships will go deeper and more sublime. Our respect for
one another, our love for one another will only increase. So we must put our egos aside in our
relationships with devotees, otherwise the laws of material nature will work and there will be a
breakdown of love and respect between us.
316
Keep the newness throughout our life
When you first come to Krishna consciousness, you want Krishna consciousness so badly
because you are suffering in the world. It is a relief. It is something new and all your
relationships with all devotees is based on learning from them, understanding from them and
even godbrothers and godsisters who are equal to you, you are learning together, you are
trying to understand together. Krishna is filling your life. But after sometime when it is no
longer new; we have to preserve that same enthusiasm. We have to preserve that same focus
by keeping Krishna consciousness in the center. And that is what is difficult. Srila Prabhupada
said that it is not very difficult to bring a person to Krishna consciousness, but it is very difficult
to keep a person in Krishna consciousness. Because everybody is enthusiastic about something
new, but we have to keep that newness throughout our life towards Krishna consciousness.
317
Don’t be proud of it
Whatever attributes we are seeming to possess in Krishna consciousness, it is not ours. It all
belongs to guru and Krishna and it is all meant to be utilised in their service. If we think that “I
am a good devotee” that is false prestige. We should think that “I am nothing but guru Maharaj
to utilise those gifts to help others.” Whatever spiritual qualities you have, is by the mercy of
guru and Krishna and the Vaishnavas. It is not yours. Don’t be proud of it. Take as much as you
can and utilise it for the service of guru and Krishna.
318
Internal revolution of our inner consciousness
To the degree we serve our own ego or the ego of others, to the degree we are intolerant to
others, to the degree we demand respect or disrespect others; is to the degree we are servants of
our false ego and we are bereft of our understanding of our real Krishna consciousness. So what
Krishna consciousness really is? It is an internal revolution of our inner consciousness for the
sake of bringing about the awakening of our real humility, devotion and our desire to serve.
Observing of Vaishnava etiquette is an important means of bringing about this purification of
heart. As devotees, it is our goal of life to present ourselves in a way that Krishna can enjoy.
We want to present in our own life; beauty that Krishna can appreciate and take pleasure in.
319
The most important part of our spiritual life
Vaishnava etiquette is a process in which devotees deal with one another, relate with one
another and it is based on those relationships that we make real spiritual advancement and
really attract Krishna. It should be second to nothing else however much pressure, however
much necessity there is in our practical service, if it is at the expense of proper devotional
relationships with our godbrothers and godsisters and other devotees, we should know that
we are defeating our own purpose. Sometimes we have seen that devotees are so busy, there
have so many deadlines, so many quotas, which are good to keep us fixed in our devotional
service to accomplish many necessary goals. But oftentimes we are so much preoccupied by
these things that we neglect the most important part of our spiritual life, which is our sadhana
and our relationships with other devotees.
320
The foundation of our spiritual life

Krishna withdraws His mercy. And all our devotional service is performed only to attract
Krishna’s mercy. So this is very important. We can learn philosophy of Krishna consciousness
in a wonderful way, we can memorise thousands of shlokas, we can memorise entire scriptures
and can be able to present them so wonderfully to others, but if we do not know how to deal
with Vaishnavas, if we do not know how to serve Vaishnavas, if we offend Vaishnavas, due to
false pride, then all of our philosophy, all our scriptural study becomes null and void, because
none of this is pleasing to Krishna. So this is the foundation in which our spiritual lives,
individually and collectively can grow and develop. So there is nothing that is more important
to put emphasis on than this.
321
The basic principles of sadhana
There are so many obstacles. But Krishna will protect you as long as you are attentive. Srila
Prabhupada has told us that we should chant 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra
everyday. He also told us that we should follow 4 regulative principles; that we should read his
books; that we should not associate with sinful people, that we should associate with sincere
devotees who are striving for Krishna consciousness; that we should not criticise or find faults
with others. These are basic principles of sadhana. As long as we are following these principles
carefully, we will be spiritually strong and we will have spiritual vision to perceive everything
in a proper way.
322
You cannot become spiritually lazy
Maya or material energy will somehow or other try to convince us to deviate from the basic
principles of sadhana and make us think it is all right. In this way we become spiritually lazy.
We become so enthusiastic to make money in our work, so enthusiastic to maintain our
family, to perform our studies, but we don’t see the importance of our spiritual sadhana. And
this laziness will cripple us. For an insincere person; Maya just crashes into your life and takes
you away from Krishna. But for a sincere devotee, Maya tries to take you away from the path of
bhakti one imperceivable point at a time. We don’t even see how she comes. You have the
greatest jewel, the greatest treasure of the fortune of Krishna bhakti. One little bit at a time. She
makes you think that you can deviate from the 4 regulative principles. Maya is little by little
taking you away. And before you know it, you are fallen. You have lost your intelligence. You
have lost your taste. You have lost your faith. So from the very beginning we must be very
attentive. You cannot become spiritually lazy. You cannot allow Maya to take us away. And this
comes when we have very nice association of devotees. It becomes natural. We have to be firm.
We have to be strict.
323
The one and only qualification needed
Real surrender is very difficult. And it can’t be done by your own powers. It can only be done
by the grace of Krishna. He can free us from the shackles of this egoistic way of thinking. And
He will; when He sees that we are genuinely sincere. The one and only qualification needed
is that we are humble and sincere; we are striving sincerely to be the servant of the servant of
the servant of our Guru and Sri Krishna. When Krishna sees our honest endeavours in this way,
by His Grace, He frees us. And He will make so many wonderful divine arrangements to
increase our sincerity, our humility, if we just accept it with a grateful heart, there is no doubt
that Krishna will lift us beyond this realm of maya into the eternal realm of loving service.
324
Why we need Guru?
You shouldn’t forget Krishna. Guru Maharaj is always telling us to remember Krishna. He is
telling us how to remember Krishna. He is telling us how to please Krishna. By the Guru’s grace
we can be constantly immersed in Krishna’s thoughts. We should know that the Guru is the
medium to Krishna. And by his mercy we will always remember Krishna. After all Srila
Prabhupada never wrote any books about himself. After he left the planet, some of his disciples
wrote books about him. But Srila Prabhupada wrote Krishna book, Srimad Bhagavatam,
Chaitanya Charitamrita etc. Everything Srila Prabhupada gave was simply to remind us of
Krishna. But his teaching of how to remember Krishna was his mercy. That is essential. The
spiritual master is the connecting point, which connects us to Krishna. The ultimate goal is to
connect to Krishna. We don’t know how to please Krishna. The reason why we need Guru is
because he teaches us how to please Krishna.
325
Surrender means to surrender our ego
The frustrations, the disappointments, the pains, the sufferings that come into our life; is the
love of God upon us to purify our hearts, to bring us closer to the real standard of selfless
service. We shouldn’t react. When Krishna either does it through material nature or does it
through another devotee or another living being, we should not respond by throwing
thunderbolts upon Him. We should respond by bowing at the lotus feet in the presence of
Krishna’s mercy and by surrendering. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Ultimately surrender means to surrender that
ego. You can surrender all your material possessions, all your money. Your can surrender your
physical form to do whatever you are asked, but it is all incomplete until we surrender our ego
to Krishna. And what does it mean to surrender your ego to Krishna? It means, “Krishna. You
are the enjoyer. I am meant for your enjoyment.” aslisya va pada ratam pinastu mam Lord
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu prayed that, “you can deal with me in any way you please. I am you
servant unconditionally.” That is the principle of real surrender.
326
You cannot understand Krishna without Guru
Our conditioned nature is; what pleases us, we want to superimpose that upon Krishna.
Cheating is most prominent in Kali Yuga. With the four defects how do we know what Krishna
wants? Even when we read Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam; everything that comes into
our heart is being filtered by our tendency to cheat, our illusioned nature, our tendency to
commit mistake and our imperfect senses. Everything is being filtered through these defects.
But the Guru Maharaj tells us as it is. If you are submissive, then you surrender; because that is
best for you. Then you are directly getting the mercy of Krishna by following his instructions.
Otherwise you don’t know what you are getting. You cannot understand the shastra without
your Guru. You cannot understand Krishna without Guru. You enquire submissively and
render service to him. Rendering service means to enquire submissively and do what he says.
We put aside all our own conceptions, which are all products of our four defective conditions.
And to the degree we do this, to that degree Krishna takes our service seriously.
327
Our spiritual life depends upon devotees’ help
Bhakti means the development of faith. Without faith there can be no love. Faith is the natural
awakening of the essential energy of the soul. And that faith is awakened by associating with
such people who either have that firm unflinching faith or by associating with such people
who, like us, have a sincere desire to acquire that faith. Our spiritual life is depending on their
help. How we find our satisfaction in this world; how we utilise the precious time that we are
given in this life, will determine our destination. If we utilise our precious time simply to
engross our mind in mundane subject matter and sense gratification in spiritually useless social
interaction, to that degree we separate ourselves from God.
328
No man is an island
One of maya’s great weapons is this attachment to social acceptance. We want to be very
socially accepted by family members, by friends, colleagues, business associates and so on. A
materialistic person will have opposite view than the devotee of the Lord. This is one of the
great tests of actually making spiritual advancement. It is a fact that unless we have social
acceptability, life becomes very difficult because no man is an island. Therefore the Sankirtan
movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large. Rather than wasting our precious
time, we should utilise that time amongst people who are enlightening one another by
hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. In such a society of devotees, spiritual life
becomes natural. It becomes tangible.
329
Association of sadhus
There is nothing more vital in our spiritual advancement than the association of sadhus. In the
association of devotees you will undoubtedly be hearing the glories of the Lord constantly and
chanting His Holy names. This is a choice we have to make. Our connection to our truth is our
faith. And our faith awakens according to the sincerity and earnestness of our desire. What
Krishna perceives in regard to our desire is whom we associate with and whom we serve.
330
We know it is not right
The purpose of human life is to reconnect our consciousness to our own eternal nature, to
submerge our mind and our senses not in the ever-changing temporary objects of our senses,
but in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is our eternal constitutional
position. But we want to postpone it. We know it is not right. We have heard it so many times,
but we think that “I still have so many things to pursue in life before I get time and energy to
really pursue the path of Krishna consciousness.” Unless Krishna intervenes in our life by
sounding some very urgent alarm, we will continue in this complacency and unconsciousness
until death.
331
Nothing can prevent us from hearing, chanting and association
Tomorrow never comes. The present moment is the only reality. Now is the time for God
consciousness. It doesn’t mean becoming a devotee. It means, sincerely and intensely, as a
devotee, calling out for Krishna, putting Krishna first in our life, first in our family, first in our
business, first in everything. It means that there is nothing else so important in this entire
creation to prevent us from associating with the Lord’s devotees and hearing and chanting the
glories of the Lord in their company. Nothing is so urgent in this entire creation to keep us from
faithfully chanting the Lord’s names each day.
332
We need each other
Look at the material world. 99 % of the populations are simply slaves of their false ego, of their
mind and their senses. And that all they want in life is to satisfy their ego, their minds and
their senses. Even in the name of religion, they have no conception of trying to be humble,
trying to be the servant of the servants, trying to purify themselves diligently through sadhana.
Look through the streets of Mumbai. Look at everybody. How many bad qualities will you find
in them? And when you come to the temple you will hear our people struggling and striving
and making all sorts of sacrifices to try to purify themselves and become devotees. They are
trying to be humble. They are trying to be servants of God. They are trying to purify themselves
in everyway. They are coming to the place where it can be done. Of everything else they can be
doing in the world, they are coming to this temple because they want Krishna. Do you know
how rare they are? Yes, certain conditionings that this material world has implanted within
their mind may still be there. But they are striving to get rid of it. And sometimes those qualities
come out. Sometimes they disturb us. But so what? It is meaningless. It means nothing. They
are so exalted for simply coming to the right place for the right purpose. They are so rare. We
need them. We need their support. And they need our support. We need each other. That is
how we have to see Vaishnavas.
333
Whatever Krishna does is His mercy
When we become a devotee, sometimes it appears that Krishna cheats us. But actually He never
cheats us. In cheating us, He is giving us something great. Externally it appears for sometime
that maybe, Krishna is cheating us. But if we have proper faith and understanding, we know
that whatever Krishna does is always for the ultimate good of His devotees. Not a blade of
grass can move without His sanction. Whatever comes into our lives, however inconceivable it
may seem, we should know that it is Krishna’s mercy, it is Krishna’s love. Yes, Krishna is trying
to cheat us by taking our minds and hearts away from all the material attachments of this world
and He is trying to place our minds always at His lotus feet. So we should not be foolish. We
should not think that any situation of life is unfair. We should accept that whatever Krishna
does is His mercy. But we must understand the true nature of His cheating. He is cheating us by
stealing away all the causes of suffering of birth and death. He is taking away all the unwanted
desires that keep us bound to sufferings of this world. He takes away all the impediments that
are separating us from His lotus feet and His divine loving service. There is no other form of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead that is so expert at purifying and cleansing the hearts of His
devotees.
334
The proof that the process is working
The dust of the feet of the Vaishnavas is represented by the process of humble devotional
service. The more we engage in that service, the more we are being bathed in the dust of their
feet. That dust will purify us of all material attachments. And as you have been purified, you
have to go through great sufferings, and all the poison starts coming out. Some devotees think,
“I have come to this Krishna consciousness movement looking for peace, joy, love. But my life is
in chaos, worse than ever.” This is the proof that the process is working. And all the poison,
everything impure is coming out because you are becoming the humble servant of the
Vaishnavas. So we should not be afraid. We should be grateful. Let it be. So long we are
humbly serving the Vaishnavas and Guru, we should know that Krishna’s lotus feet are upon
our heads. Through their mercy, through the process of devotional service we are bathing
ourselves in the dust of the feet of Krishna. We should understand that anything Krishna does
to purify us, it is our good fortune and with a grateful, thankful heart, we should chant Hare
Krishna maha mantra. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare.
335
Any advancement in spiritual life is never lost
Any advancement in spiritual life is never lost. Narada Muni describes in first Canto that if one
takes to spiritual life and because of previous conditionings, later on falls down into abominable
activities, he cannot remain in that position for very long, because having once tasted the
sweetness of devotion to Krishna, very soon he comes back to that standard and goes higher
and higher for the perfection of life. Therefore, if anyone takes sincerely to Krishna
consciousness, pursues the life of Sanatana Dharma, even if that person due to past
conditionings becomes weak hearted and fallen, according to the sastra, very soon he will be
back and in an even more purified state, because he has tasted the sweetness at the feet of Sri
Krishna. So nothing is lost for one who becomes dear to Krishna.
336
A speck of dust of Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet
We have the great fortune of being present during this glorious moment when Srila
Prabhupada will be bathed in the waters from 1008 holy places all over this land of Bharat
varsha. Devotees for several years worked very hard to collect waters. There are many articles
and videos showing devotees taking airplanes and trains and rikshaws and buses and walking
for days and days to very remote parts of the world to get some of the holy waters. It is
explained in Srimad Bhagavatam that all the holy places in all of existence are contained within
the lotus feet of pure devotee like Srila Prabhupada. Just like you take the water from Ganges
and offer to Mother Ganges and She accept that worship, Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet contains
all the holy places and we had to work very hard and travel everywhere just to get the same
substance that are contained within the dust of his lotus feet, to offer him in this abhishek. In
fact, all the holy places are within a speck of dust of Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet. And that
dust is available to everyone in any place throughout all time who just follow his instructions,
to live a life of devotion to Krishna, understanding Krishna to be the Supreme Person and
understanding ourselves to be the eternal soul, part of Krishna, the eternal servant of Krishna
and to awaken that natural love by sincerely chanting Krishna's holy names. Anytime we chant
the holy names and serve this glorious mission of Srila Prabhupada, we should know that we
are taking our bath in all the holy places in all of existence. Srila Prabhupada left Vrindavan to
bring Vrindavan to the entire world and it was by his mercy alone that many of us were saved
from wasting this valuable human form of life in pursuit of worldly pleasures. 25 years ago in
this great city of Bombay Srila Prabhupada placed the dust of his feet upon my head for the first
time and I am eternally indebted to him and we feel a great debt to the city of Bombay because
it is here that Srila Prabhupada cast his great mercy upon us. In fact Srila Prabhupada spent so
much time here in Bombay because it was his most fervent desire that all of you help him to
serve the mission of his Guru Maharaj by living exemplary lives in Krishna consciousness and
spreading throughout the world, the glories of the Sankirtan movement of the chanting of
Krishna's holy names. So today during this beautiful abhishek ceremony let us all bathe Srila
Prabhupada's lotus feet with our commitment to enthusiastically assist this International
Society For Krishna Consciousness, which is Srila Prabhupada's body, with our great
willingness to help him by pushing on this movement. ISKCON is Prabhupada's body, he said
many times. On this maha Vyas Puja let us bathe the body of Srila Prabhupada by this
determined commitment to this mission.
337
Invest in Krsna’s bank
Sometimes people say, if I take to spiritual life, what about this and what about that? Srila
Prabhupada said, “What you have to lose? Any advancement you make is eternally to your
credit." When you die, whatever you gain materially is lost forever. But whatever little
advancement you have made in spiritual life is never lost. If you become 47 % Krishna
conscious in this life and then you fall down into abominable activities and then die, you begin
your next life with 48 %. That is never lost. What bank or finance company can promise you
such a guarantee that whatever you invest will never be lost, even in you next birth or one
thousand births to come. If there happens to be depression in the country, you lose everything
tomorrow. But Krishna is the Supreme controller. When you invest in His bank, it is
permanent. Krishna is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. There is no question of
Krishna having a depression. Therefore this is intelligence.
338
When does the contamination takes place
studying His scriptures, by keeping all of our senses very purely immersed in His loving
service, by performing some puja. Let our everyday begin with this and this alone. Nothing
else should be our priority. Nothing else should be our duty in the morning except our sadhana,
our purification. After that let us take some prasad, which is also purifying to the body, the
mind and the soul. And then let us attend to our daily activities. But like a lotus flower, though
we may have to do our duty, we should not associate with or take part in the enjoyment of
those who are not in devotion to God. The contamination that takes place in the heart, is not
when we are doing our duties in this world. The contamination takes place afterwards when
our social life is intermingling with people who are materialistic in nature, when we start to
take part in things they enjoy.
339
False Conceptions
"The basic root cause of the material bondage and suffering is this false conception that I am this
body, those things in relationships to this body and our mind and that I am the doer, the
performer of my activities. I am the controller of my surroundings, and ultimately I am the
enjoyer.
"This is the influence of maya or illusion. Peace can all attain when we recognise that Krsna is
the Lord. That Krsna is the Supreme controller. Krsna is the propertier of everything that exists.
And Krsna is the only enjoyer in everything and everyone is meant for Krsna enjoyment, this
philosophy is the greatest threat it the greatest opposition to the egoistic way of thinking that is
prevailing everything and everyone in this world. And we find within this creation everyone is
subject to the influence of this maya potency.
"Even the insignificant insect, at night sometime the mosquito disturbs us. What is the
motivation of this mosquito? That I am the enjoyer and I am the controller. Your blood is not
your blood it is my blood. This is their illusion. The blood flowing through your veins the
mosquito is claiming propertiership to; this is my blood to enjoy. And by infatuated by this
consciousness comes to bite you, to drink your blood. But actually all the problems of this
world are due to this mosquito type of consciousness. When human beings adapted this
consciousness see what terrible problems arise from it. "
340
The most precious and valuable treasure
We should not take part in enjoying what they (materialistic people) enjoy because as soon as
we do that, our consciousness becomes like that of the materialist, non-devotional. We become
further and further implicated in the bondage of illusion. We want to wake up. Materialistic
activities will simply take us deeper and deeper into the slumber of ignorance. So therefore after
performing our duties, we should befriend and our social life should be with those persons who
will help cultivate the devotional sentiments in our hearts, help purify our life. This is very
important. That is why it is said, sadhu sanga sadhu sanga sarva sastra kahe, lava matra sadhu
sanga sarva siddhi hoye -- that the association of sadhus is the most precious and valuable
treasure given by God in the whole creation. When we associate with saintly persons, naturally
the quality of our devotion grows. When we associate with Krishna, through His devotees,
through His name, through His prasad, through His murti, through His books, through His
word, through that association, naturally, pure devotion awakens from within our heart. So this
is the process how to become a pure devotee.
341
Spoil The Child And Spare The Rod
"Therefore Nanada Maharaja was performing the Indra yajya for the satisfaction of Indra. And
Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-Gita: for those in the bodily concept of life who have been
honoured, dishonour is the worse than death. We become spoilt when we become accustomed
in getting our way and this is a great, great defect. When we become conditioned to getting
what we expect or what we want it completely spoils and ruins our consciousness.
"There is a saying ‘spoil the child and spare the rod.’ The greatest disservice a parent can do to a
child is to give it whatever it wants because what you doing through this process is, your
creating an atmosphere in that child’s consciousness that it will make it miserable until the day
it dies. Because if we are expecting to get whatever we want then we are totally frustrated and
miserable when we don’t get our way. The fact is the way in this world is that you will not
always get you ways. If a child is not expecting much, knows whatever it gets is grateful for
then the child can be peaceful in any situation is life, throughout its life.
"It is a fact, as long as you are expecting something you cannot be grateful, you are not grateful
for something you expect, your grateful for something that you do not deserve but it has come
anyway. With the grateful type of consciousness, if you do not get it then you will think ‘oh
very nice,’ ‘its alright,’ ‘I don’t need it anyway,’ ‘I don’t deserve it anyway.’
"Therefore in that consciousness they are peaceful, and without being grateful you cannot
understand what is bhakti. We should be grateful for anything that God gives us, the sufferings
as well as the pleasures and the successes and the failures. When we talk about being spoiled it
means you are expecting to get whatever you want and you get it. It’s a perfect word spoiled,
your life is spoilt if you are in this consciousness, and it is childishness."
342
Childish Consciousness
"In this particular chapter of Bhagavatam we find Indra in this childish consciousness being
spoilt. That for so many years the Vraja-vasis has been offering me yajya for my enjoyment and
I am conditioned to accept it and here come the year when they are not offering it to me, they
are offering it to someone else. Because he had such a spoilt consciousness of getting his way
always, instead of jus saying ‘oh I don’t deserve it anyway, oh its Krsna’s mercy, I am grateful
when it comes and if it doesn’t come that is also wonderful let me just chant Hare Krsna that is
the greatest wealth.’ No, he was angry he was furious just like a child who expects to get his
ways, if you do not give the child what it wants he becomes furious. And if you do give it the
child isn’t grateful, the child thinks yes this is what I deserve.
"So Indra was like this, he was furious, he was so angry that according to his capacity he
wanted to use all of his powers to destroy everyone in Vrindavana, to kill them and destroy all
their property simply because they interfered with his sense gratification, this is material
consciousness people are so egocentric, they are so self-centred, that to fulfil the own purposes
and sense gratification they are willing to cause pain to point of even death of other living
beings. Just see how contrary this idea is to the very principle and the nature of this soul is part
of Krsna.
343
Nature of the soul is to become compassionate
"The nature of the soul is to become compassionate, to be merciful, to be tolerant, to be peaceful

and loving because the soul is part of Krsna. The godly qualities of God himself is within the
heart of every living being, but when we identify with this body and this mind and we allow
ourselves to fall a victim to this kind of false pride, just see we become merciful, compassionate
and kind. Only when behaving in that way is conducive to our sense gratification, we become
such a friendly loving well-wisher to others because we want them to love us back, we want
them to say nice things about us and therefore we are investing in such nice sweet words and
apparent compassionate offering to someone only so that we get what we want in return. But if
that person neglects us or ignores us or does not give us the sense gratification that we expect
we would be ready to destroy them."
344
What is the definition of mercy?
If you don’t consider yourself most fallen, you cannot reach out for mercy. Mercy doesn’t come
to qualified people. If you are qualified for something, would it be mercy? What is the
definition of mercy? That means you don’t deserve it, you are getting it anyway. If you go to a
store, give 5 lakhs and ask for Maruti Van and if they give you a van, do you say, “Oh, you are
very merciful"? But if you go to the store and say, “I have no money but for my guru Maharaj, I
want this van" and he says, “Oh. you don’t have to pay. Just use it properly" then you would
say that the person is merciful. So what is the definition of mercy? It means you don’t deserve
it. You get it anyway. Not by your qualification, but by the benevolence of the giver. That is
what mercy means. If you think you are qualified, there is no question of mercy. But if you
consider yourself the most fallen, the most undeserving, then you are in a proper state of
consciousness by which the Lord would be merciful upon you.
345
The Soul By Nature Is Selfless
"In the western world 70% in marriages end in divorce within 3 years, why? One minute your
saying the sweetest loving nice words to your beloved and you are willing to offer all your
service, you will do anything for them because you are thinking that person will give the sense
gratification that I want. So that means ultimately you haven’t done anything for that person,
you have done everyone for yourself. And you are speaking sweet words and you are doing so
many nice things and doing so much service and even going out of your way to make that
person happy not for that person but for your own self. Your own fastidious ego, that’s all.
"As soon as that person does not reciprocate and give you the proper sense gratification that
you expect, divorce. Divorce means when you become enemies you are trying to get as mush as
you can from each other. The divorce courts are the most gruesome courts in America worse
than murder courts. What people say about each other and how people hate each other and
how they make terrible accusations to each other because your sense gratification is frustrated
we turn against that person we want to destroy them, want to get much as possible from them,
factually that is what we really wanted, that is material consciousness.
"The soul by nature is selfless, this is what we mean by sacrifice to make sacred by offering for
the pleasure of the beloved sacrifice means in its true sense to selflessly serve for the benefit and
the pleasure of others, without any expectations in return."
346
Live as a Sacrifice for Krsna
"It is a fact that more you expect in return from what you are doing the more your heart feels
the loneliness and emptiness. Although you ego may be fed tremendously with sense
gratification your heart remains void of any meaning. Because the constitutional position of the
soul is to be the selfless, unmotivated, uninterrupted, servant. The very nature in the essential
condition of soul is that of sacrifice.
"Krsna says I am the enjoyer of all sacrifice, it means every jiva atma is meant simply to live as a
sacrifice for Krsna, through ones body, ones words, ones mind and ones very own life. It is all
meant to be a humble offering, for the pleasure of God. But unfortunately, we are so much
contaminated with this spirit to enjoy, to be recognised, to obtain."
347
Real Peace
"Recently in new Vrindavana there was an interfaith conference, and this one French lady, she
was there and at the end of the conference she was weeping. And she said to me that
‘throughout my life I have been so frustrated because everything I see or I like I want to possess
it.’ She’s an artist, when she sees a nice painting her satisfaction is that she can own it, and have
it in her own house. Or if she sees something else whatever she sees her gratification is I must
possess it to enjoy it.
"But she said ‘after associating with some devotees I can see that you people have nothing, and
you are enjoying everything. You are enjoying the sky, you are enjoying the trees, you are
enjoying everyone else’s homes, and you are enjoying everything. You do not have to work for
it, you do not have to protect it, you do not have to be in anxiety about it, you are simply
enjoying what Krsna enjoys and you are part of Him.’ She said, ‘this is a new light in my life.
There is no need to possess or propertier anyone but simply to appreciate the glories of Krsna,
how He is the controller, He is the proprietor, He is the enjoyer of everything.’
"This is the nature of the soul and therefore such a personality can be peaceful. You see when
Krsna means when you could be peaceful try to analyse it in this way, in order to relate it to our
own life, when we have everything we want and everything is going our way there is some
sense of peace. It is no real peace, but there is some superficial peace. But as soon as things do
not go your way there is turmoil within and without. Your mind and sense go crazy with anger,
frustration and envy. But Krsna is saying if you accept everything as a property of Him, then
even when everything goes completely opposite of your plans and expectations then you
should say to Krsna this is perfect, this is Your perfect arrangement and I love You for whatever
you do. That is peace. That consciousness is real peace."
348
Lord Chaitanya is all-powerful
Yes we are most fallen. We don’t have even the power to control our senses. But if we surrender
to Krishna; if we fall at the feet of Krishna and call out His holy name offenselessly, call out the
holy name of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, then He delivers us. Lord Chaitanya is all-powerful.
He is patita pavana. He can give the most degraded the highest gift of prema bhakti. We must
understand these things because if you don’t understand these things, then you will not
understand the power of mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhhu. That is the only purpose - to
understand the power and the mercy of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Do not try to understand
the power of His mercy on basis of relative conception that He is an ordinary person like us.
When we understand what heights of the gifts that He is giving to the most fallen, degraded
creatures on this earth, then we understand that there is no one beautiful, so great, so merciful
as God in the form of Sri Gauranga. Yes in this life, you can attain this stage, if you accept His
mercy.
349
I am Your Servant Unconditionally
"The impersonal philosophers, their idea of peace is to completely nullify any

emotions or sentiments within their own heart. To completely empty your
consciousness of any feelings, to become callous and hard in every situation in life
that is considered to be renunciation. Therefore whatever happens, it doesn’t
matter, as it is all an illusion. But the bhakta, their idea of renunciation and peace is
much different. For the bhakta we purify our emotions, we purify with super
sensitivity our feelings they all simply the offering to Lord Krsna, they are all simply
acknowledging the love of Krsna in every situation.
"Therefore, Caitanya Mahaprabhu have taught us this principle, that my Lord if You
like then You could give me the ultimate satisfaction of embracing me, with Your
own loving arms. Or if You like You can trample on me with Your feet and cause pain
and break every bone in my body and even worse than that crush my ego. Or if You
like, You can make me broken hearted by utterly neglecting me. You have right to
deal with, with how ever You please, because I am your servant unconditionally.
That You are the God of love and nothing emanates from You accept love and there
is nothing You can possibly do that is not born of Your love.
"Therefore whatever comes into my life is the perfect arrangement of Your love and
I am grateful, anything. I am meant for Your pleasure. The only possession that I
aspire for is the position of being Your selfless servant. But we find here that this
great, great disease that is keeping us from this loving reciprocation with Krsna, it is
so strong, it is deeply rooted within out hearts it is all-pervading within this material
world."
350
Dassera is the celebration of the grand victory
Dassera is the celebration of the grand victory of Lord Ramachandra over the mighty demon
Ravana and of course this is a factual historical event that took place in Sri Lanka, during the
Treta Yuga. But know that it is also a lila that can take place within your heart when you take
shelter of Lord Ramachandra. And therefore on this day, in preparation for this day, we should
truly meditate on what this lila truly means to us. What it means to our life. The symbol of
kama, ravana; who is dwelling in the heart of all living souls, and is the single deadly enemy of
every living being; can all be defeated by the mighty glory of Rama. By remembering Rama, He
appears within our heart. By remembering Him, He kills all the demons within our heart.
351
Our Krishna Consciousness is based on our enthusiasm to serve
No Pain; No Gain. If you are not willing to work for Krishna consciousness, Krishna will give
nothing. Krishna tells Arjuna to give up his lethargy and egoism, two great enemies of a
spiritual aspirant. Lethargy is a great impediment. We think, “Now I am an initiated devotee.
Now I have the mercy of my Guru Maharaj and therefore there is no need for me to work so
hard.” A devotee must become extremely enthusiastic. According to the enthusiasm in which
you want to please Krishna and Guru, to that extent you will get the mercy. Srila
Bhaktisiddhanata Sarastwati Thakur used to say for a devotee who is not enthusiastic;
spiritually he is dead. The life of our Krishna Consciousness is based on our enthusiasm to
serve. That means we must really work hard. We should not be expecting what facilities we
have. We should be doing our service with all of our energy under any condition. This is
enthusiasm.
352
Krsna's Mercy
"Therefore it is explained here that what has happened between Krsna and Indra it very, very
instructive and symbolic to everyone’s life, because we are all like tiny little Indra’s, we are all
spoilt little children thinking in terms of I and my and expecting our own sense gratification in
what ever we do. Expecting others to honour us, worship us and recognise us this is the
mentality of Indra in this condition.
"But Krsna’s mercy upon Indra you have to know Krsna performed this Goverdhan lilä for
several reasons. But most specific and prominent reason in which Krsna did this whole lilä was
to show mercy toward Indra, to purify him, to bring him in the standard of devotion. Indra was
a devotee, Indra was not just a karmi Indra was performing all of his activities as the ruler of
the heavens as a service to Krsna.
"Krsna warns us in the Bhagvatam that even in the execution of your devotional service, what
you obtain through the service of the Lord never consider it yours and never try to enjoy it, its
all for Krsna. So Indra doing his service from Krsna, he is a devotee, he is a wonderful devotee,
but somehow or another he got bewildered by all of the opportunities of enjoyment that came
from the result of Krsna. It is a fact when we perform nice devotional service people gives us
prestige, people give recognition, people give us money, and people give us luxurious facilities.
If we think any of these things are for my self-enjoyment we have fallen from the standard of
real Krsna consciousness."
"It is Krsna’s mercy as He purifies us from that situation, by intervening, Krsna intervened with
the life of Indra, the coward men had everything organised in a elegant way to worship Indra
and Krsna just intervened, a little seven year old child, He just came in and said, ‘Nanada
maharaja don’t offer this to Indra, offer it to Giriraj, Goverdhan Hill and Krsna was so expect in
his way of talking, Nanada Maharaj had to do what ever he wanted. So in this way Krsna
intervened, Krsna spoiled all Indra’s sense gratification purposely, out of mercy. Indra couldn’t
understand it in the beginning, he reacted with rage, with violence, but after Krsna lifts up the
Goverdhan Hill, then Indra realises my god what have I done. His ego became so burnt, he
became purified, by the pain and frustration he had to endure, then he fell at the lotus feet of
Krsna.
"So in the same way, we should know Indra suffered terribly when Krsna did this to him.
Physical infliction of pain is bad, but the physical infliction upon the ego is far, far difficult to
endure. Krsna inflicted terrible, terrible, suffering on the mind of Indra for what he did. But
Indra ultimately understood that it was His mercy, this is Your love, and this is Your kindness.
So in the same way this is how a devotee sees all reversals in his life. He is sees that Krsna has
the doer, not a blade of grass can move without His sanction. The frustration, the
disappointments and the pains and sufferings that come into our life is the love of god upon us,
to purify our hearts, to bring us closer to the real standard our real service.
353
"Krsna warns us in the Bhagvatam that even in the execution of your devotional service, what
you obtain through the service of the Lord never consider it yours and never try to enjoy it, its
all for Krsna. So Indra doing his service from Krsna, he is a devotee, he is a wonderful devotee,
but somehow or another he got bewildered by all of the opportunities of enjoyment that came
from the result of Krsna. It is a fact when we perform nice devotional service people gives us
prestige, people give recognition, people give us money, and people give us luxurious facilities.
If we think any of these things are for my self-enjoyment we have fallen from the standard of
real Krsna consciousness.
"When Krishna either does it through material nature or does it through another devotee or
another living being, we should not respond by throwing thunderbolts upon Him. We should
respond by bowing at the lotus feet in the presence of Krishna's mercy and by surrendering.
Ultimately surrender means to surrender that ego. You can surrender all your material
possessions, all your money. You can surrender your physical form to do whatever you are
asked, but it is all-incomplete until we surrender our ego to Krishna. And what does it mean to
surrender our ego to Krishna? It means, "Krishna. You are enjoyer. I am meant for your
enjoyment."
354
What can I do for the Vaishnavas?
We are willing to shed blood, sweat and tear under any condition of life; we are going to make
our life a sacrifice for the pleasure of our guru. This is enthusiasm. This is essential. This is
required. A devotee thinks, "What can I do for the Vaishnavas?" If you don't have that
consciousness, then you cannot advance properly. This is essential. We must cultivate. We
must pray for it. We must strive for it. It is this vitality that gives life and substance to a devotee.
A devotee who is grateful, humble & enthusiastic to serve, that devotee is blissful and effulgent.
And the devotees who always complain and always trying to get out of something, a devotee
who is too busy to do anything more, those devotees are always looking very gloomy, morose,
like a dark cloud over them. It is a fact.
355
Sense enjoyment and Krishna consciousness go ill together
Sense enjoyment and Krishna consciousness go ill together. They are opposites. It is like trying
to start fire and throwing water on it. The fire will never grow as long as you are throwing
water on it. We are trying to develop our determination for devotional service. Detachment is
like wood and attachment for sense enjoyment is like water, exterminating all our spiritual
qualities. Therefore unless we have a determined endeavour to give up sense gratification and
give up attachment to material opulence, determination to Krishna consciousness cannot take
place. So a devotee is always trying to control all the sense on all sides by the mind.
356
Bhakti is the most precious & glorious
Through material association, through association with demoniac powers, which means
materialistic powers, Maya is ordering so many of her agents to set fire to whatever is good
within us, to destroy it. We have to be very careful. We have to protect our virtues. We have to
protect our principles. We have to protect, most of all, our faith. Everywhere we go, we are
being attacked. By staying in good association, by reading, hearing and chanting, by performing
devotional service, we are always protected from all of the fires of material energy. We should
know that this seed of bhakti is the most precious & glorious thing, that we can ever achieve.
357
The service should be honored
We must be enthusiastic. We must be running for devotional service. When we are asked to do
something, we shouldn’t be asking, "Why are you asking me? Why not somebody else? Why
doesn’t he do it?" It should be honored. We should be grateful. We should be begging for
service. A foolish devotee is afraid to come to the temple because he is afraid that they might
give him something to do. A devotee should be begging, "Krishna, please give me service.
There is not enough time in the day to serve my spiritual master. What can I do? Where can I
do? How can I do it?" Every moment is an opportunity to encourage a Vaishnava to assist
another devotee in his service to do something for my Gurudev. This is enthusiasm.
358
You cannot serve two things
What does it mean to become attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence? It means to
take shelter of those things; to seek refuge in those things; to seek relief in those things. You
cannot serve two things. Unless we restrain our senses, we cannot fix our consciousness on
Krishna. Our consciousness is being diverted. And as long as we are attached to sense
enjoyment and material opulence, even if we are Krishna conscious, we are lukewarm. Only
with detachment can determination come into our heart. We have to practice detachment.
Because as long as you are attached to those things, your mind is intoxicated, infatuated by
those things. And in that state, there is no scope for any real determination for devotional
service.
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The only way that is possible to free ourselves
Nityo nityanam- that everyone is an expanded part and parcel of Krishna, who is eternally under
the control of Krishna. But the jivatma has the free will to choose whether we want to be under
the control of Krishna’s material energy through the process of forgetting Krishna; or whether
we want to be under the control of His spiritual energy, the energy of love which brings about
the awakening of the eternal ecstasy that is dormant within us. Within this material existence
the three modes of material nature are ruling everyone and the word guna is often translated as
rope. Just as we are tied by ropes and we are dragged into so many activities, dragged to speak
so many different types of subjects, dragged to think in so many various ways. But Bhagavad
Gita teaches us how to free from these ropes of modes of material nature. And the only way
that is possible is explained by Krishna Himself; that this material existence conducted by the
three modes of nature is very difficult to overcome. These ropes are stringent; we are captive;
we are prisoners; the only way we can be relieved from this suffering condition is if we
surrender to Krishna, because Krishna is the controller of material nature mayadhaksena
prakriti…. At the time of death every conditioned soul due to forgetfulness of Krishna has to
meet the superintendent of death, Yamaraj. In Yamaraj’s abode it is a place where all living
beings have to face the judgment of all of their previous sinful karmas. And the Manu Smrti
explains in great detail what kind of Karmic reaction there is for even the activities, which are
considered ordinary every day in our life style today. In Kali Yuga what is considered
convention or normal way of life is actually subjected to terrible terrible punishment.
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We should never neglect our service to Krishna
It is explained by Sukadev Gosvami that while Krishna was just a tiny little child, His lila of Bal
Gopal, He would be very fond of stealing the butter from the pots of the gopis. On this
particular occasion on the day of Diwali, Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur explains that,
Mother Yasoda was feeding Krishna her milk and meanwhile the milk that was boiling on the
fire stove began to boil over. So she placed Krishna down in a comfortable place and went to
attend to her duties. And Krishna took this opportunity to perform one of the most beautiful
and loving pastimes (damodar lila) that is forever enacted within the hearts of His devotees. He
wanted to show us that there is no occupation superior than pleasing Krishna. We can let all
the rest of our world fall down, but we should never neglect our service to Krishna because
ultimately everything of our world will fall down by the power of time; but as Krishna explains
in Gita- nehabhikram nasosti pratyavayo na vidyate ……………….there is one thing that is
eternal in our lives- one thing that is never lost and that is whatever spiritual progress we make
engaging in devotional service, performing bhajana and seva at the feet of Krishna and His
devotees.
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Krishna in your heart will never forget
In Kali Yuga what is considered convention or normal way of life is actually subjected to
terrible terrible punishment. And in this connection Srila Prabhupada explains the story of
Ajamila. Ajamila was actually a devotee of the Lord when he was young. He had his spiritual
master and he was engaging in spiritual life. But what we associate with we become that. That
is the law of nature. If you will associate with saintly people you will undoubtedly become
saintly and if you will associate with materialistic people you will lose all your inner spiritual
qualities. So Ajamila happened to associate with a young lady who was a prostitute addicted to
material life. And in that association he became a most sinful person. He abandoned his own
religious wife his mother his father, his friends, his guru, everyone. ..……. In this way Ajamila
lived his life and the time of death, because of his previous devotional activities the Lord never
forgot. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, that whatever advancements you make; Krishna in
your heart will never forget that. Srila Prabhupada told us that even if you once chant the holy
name of the Lord seriously Krishna will never forget. He will definitely bring you back to the
path of bhakti even if you commit the most abominable activities. So by the Lord’s arrangement
he called upon his son, his youngest son Narayana, just when he was about to leave his body.
The Yamadutas appeared. They tied him with the ropes to bring him to Yamaraja’s court. And
they were furious terrible looking beings and when Ajamila saw them he realized that he made
big big mistakes in his life. But he was helpless. You cannot fight the Yamadutas. And just as
they were pulling his subtle body in his soul out of the gross form, at that moment the
Visnudutas, beautiful beautiful personalities appeared and they cut the ropes of the
Yamadutas. And there was a discussion. The Visnudutas told the Yamadutas that they cannot
take him because he has chanted the names of Narayana. And the Yamadutas were powerless.
They were defeated.
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So they (Yamadutas) went back to Yamaraja. Srila Prabhupada explains that they were
simultaneously angry and frustrated. They were practically ready to commit suicide. Because
they were thinking that Yamaraja is the Supreme God. And in this material world even the
demigods are under his control. How is it that if you are supreme that anyone had the power to
stop us from executing your judgment? The Yamadutas were very upset. They said, that we
took him with our ropes. But because he said the name of Narayana, these Visnudutas spoiled
all our efforts and defeated us. And when Yamaraja heard the name of Narayana, he became
ecstatic and he began to explain to the Yamadutas, first before saying anything, he began to
meditate in great bliss on the name, the form and the qualities of Lord Narayana. Because
Mahajan Yamaraj is such a mahajan the great devotees of the Lord, know that the only way,
they can speak the truth is if they pray to the Lord to speak through them. Krishna speaks in the
scriptures; if we repeat the scriptures with the blessings of Guru and Krishna then we
understand that Krishna’s power can come to us. Whoever we may be. So Yamaraja with all of
his power and with all of his greatness he humbly prayed to the Supreme Personality of
Godhead to instruct the Yamadutas the absolute truth. And then he spoke that myself and Siva
and Brahma and Surya and Agni and Vayu, Ganapati, all of these devatas we may be the Lords
of the certain divisions of this creation. But we are all gaining power from the one Supreme
Lord Narayan or Krishna. He is the master of everyone. And He has descended within the
beautiful sound of His name. The Lord is non-different from His name. And anyone who
sincerely chants the holy name of the Lord with offenseless consciousness is freed of all previous
sins, of all previous lives. And anyone who is a servant of such a devotee who is chanting the
holy names is eternally protected by the Lord Himself. And Yamaraj in great bliss warned the
Yamadutas, do not ever approach a devotee. Do not ever approach anyone to punish who has
chanted the names of the Lord sincerely even once in his life. In fact I say anyone who bows
down to such a devotee, do not go near them. Because if you do; Lord Vishnu Himself with His
chakra and His club will stop you. He will destroy you. So this beautiful pastime, Yamaraj
himself is describing the glories of the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. Even the most
wicked even the most lowly and fallen can achieve the highest position be simply chanting the
holy names of Krishna. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama
Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. And in this age of Kali Yuga, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,
has descended. He has descended to teach everyone the wonderful process of Hari nama
sankirtana. And His Divine Grace Srila A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, with such faith
in Krishna’s holy name traveled all parts of this world inducing everyone without
discrimination to perfect their lives, through the chanting of Krishna’s holy names and by living
according to Krishna’s teachings. Srila Prabhupada was simple. Although the philosophy
behind this message is so powerful so profound, and so complete; it answers all questions and
defeats all oppositions. The conclusion is to chant Hare Krishna and be happy. To live together
in harmony in the association of devotees and to find our happiness and bliss not in trying to
intoxicate ourselves with the sources of misery and for the forms of the pleasures of this world.
But by coming together in wonderful congregations like tonight and raising our arms and
dancing jubilantly and loudly calling out Krishna’s holy names, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare and hearing the
wonderful glories of Krishna’s names and Krishna’s devotees who have taken shelter of the
names. Srila Prabhupada is certainly the most merciful compassionate servant of all living
entities because he has given us the supreme charity, of His divine grace in the form of the path
of pure bhakti and has left behind; before he disappeared from this world in his physical sense;
his books, his temples, his instructions and his devotees.
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The mind and the senses are so strong
The mind and the senses are so strong. Krishna says in the Gita, that the senses and the mind
are so emphatic that they can even carry away the intelligence of a man who is endeavoring to
control them. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is a great sanyasi; Who is the Supreme Personality
of Godhead Himself but He was in the role of a devotee to teach us the proper path of Sanatana
dharma. He explained in a beautiful verse; if one is endeavoring to cross over this ocean of birth
and death and attaining the abode of the Lord; to associate with people who are too much
attached to material sense enjoyment, it is worse than drinking poison willingly. Why worse?
Because poison kills the body; that is not much of a loss but the poison of too much sinful
association kills our inherent inclination to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And that
is like death to the immortal soul.
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Controlling the mind
Krishna tells us that there is no question of yoga without disciplining the mind. Krishna says,
“bandhur atmatmanas tasya yenatmaivatmana jitah/anatmanas tu satrutve vartetatmaiva satru-vat”.
That for one who controls his mind, the mind is the best of friends, but for one who fails to do
so; his very mind is his worst enemy. In fact it is described in Srimad Bhagavatam that the mind
is one’s one and only enemy. And therefore one should never trust one’s enemy. The mind is
also sometimes compared to fire. When fire is under control, it can bring about the greatest
benefits for ourselves, our family, for all humanity. When fire is under control, we can cook
with it, we can heat our homes with it when it is cold. But when fire is out of control, it can only
do one thing -- cause great havoc, chaos, destruction. Therefore when one is working with fire,
one must be very very careful to keep it completely under control so that you are the master of
the fire and the fire does not become the master of you. So the mind in the same way, Krishna is
explaining when it is controlled, the mind is one’s best of friend’s. Through our minds we can
perfect our lives, purify our existence, do the greatest welfare work for all of humanity and all
living beings. But the uncontrolled mind will simply cause one’s own destruction and we find
when people’s minds are collectively uncontrolled, the whole world, the whole planet is in utter
chaos.
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The power of the mind
Krishna explains that yoga means to discipline the mind. And how to discipline the mind?
Arjuna, he explains to Sri Krishna in one of the future verses of this chapter that, “My dear
Lord, to control this mind seems to be more impossible than controlling the raging wind”.
Recently, I believe, it was just earlier this year, we remember the great cyclone that took place in
Bangladesh. How many hundreds and thousands of people were killed within seconds and
how many millions and billions of peoples’ homes were utterly destroyed? How these winds
caused massive floods, also fire, who could control the wind? Can any of the scientists with
their rocket ships and airplanes could stop the cyclone? The most they could do is warn people
to get away. And that they can say, they are very proud of. But they cannot stop the wind and
its devastations. But Arjuna claims to Krishna, “I believe the instruction you are giving me to
control the mind is more difficult than controlling the raging wind”. But Krishna tells Arjuna
that what you are saying is true. The speed of the wind may be in velocity so many miles per
hour and when it gets very fast, it causes complete destruction of everything it touches. But the
mind, how much faster the mind can travel? We can think of some place, five, ten thousand
miles away. If I think of my home in America, my mind is right there within a fraction of a
second. That is the power of the mind.
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He is conquered by the mind?
Take shelter of Krishna. See Krishna's mercy through the sound of His name. That is all that is
required. And it is described that Krishna's name is bhaktavatsala. What does this mean? That
Lord Sri Krishna, He is conquered by the mind that is always thinking of Him. We have read
the story of the Damodara lila. Krishna allowed Himself to be bound by the ropes of Mother
Yasoda's love. Krishna says in the Gita, for one who controls the mind by always thinking of
Me; the Supersoul is already reached. Krishna personally becomes the captive servant of one
who always thinks of Him with love.
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Always think of Krsna
By constant practice and detachment (we can control the mind). Krishna explains how to do
constantly practice, “man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru…Always think of
Me”. We are trying to always think of Krishna. We are chanting his names, we are worshipping
His deity form, we are sitting in class listening to His words. But still even in the phase of all
these benedictions that the Lord has given, my mind is still constantly running somewhere else.
Krishna says that we must constantly practice the process of thinking of Him. Always think of
Me. Because when we think of Krishna, we are putting the mind at the shelter of the lotus feet
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because; Krishna is non-different than the divine
transcendental sound of His holy name.
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Only Krishna has that power
We read in the 10th canto of Srimad Bhagvatam about how a whirlwind came to Vrindavana
much worse than the cyclone of Bangladesh or Madras. Recently a cyclone was also there at
Tirupati, Madras, all these places. (But) this cyclone was millions of times worse because it
wasn’t simply an act of material nature, but was a powerful raksasa demon who took the form
of the wind. His name was Trinavarta and when he came to Vrindavan, everything became
pitch dark, everything started just blowing and blowing and it was complete havoc. And
nobody could see anything and the whirlwind demon Trinavarta took Krishna away from the
Brijvasis up into the sky. His desire was to kill Him knowing that (if) he killed Krishna then
everyone in Vrindavan would die because they could not live without Him. So in this same
way, this is the mission of the demon of the mind**. Even then we are trying to think of
Krishna, even then we are trying to chant His holy name and be with His devotees, the mind
like the Trinavarta demon is always trying to take Krishna away to cause so much darkness and
chaos so that we can not find or see Krishna anywhere. Knowing that if the mind can take
Krishna away, if maya can work through the mind in this process, then spiritually we are dead.
We are finished. We are completely under the control of the modes of material nature. But
“Krishna”, the Brijbasis they simply prayed, “Krishna save us! This great wind; we have no
power. Please Krishna save us!” And Krishna grabbed hold of that wind; that whirl wind
Trinavarta and Trinavarta understood as long as Krishna is upon me I am conquered. Therefore
that whirlwind was trying to do everything possible to push Krishna away. But Krishna held
on, ultimately it was only the Supreme Lord, Sri Gopal, who could destroy that demon. So
similarly, you cannot control your mind. Only Krishna has that power. Hrisikena hrisikesa
sevanam bhaktir ucyate- therefore by constantly practicing, keeping our mind fixed on
Krishna; and Krishna tells us how; whatever and wherever the mind wanders due to its
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flickering and unsteady nature, bring it back to Me. Think of me, chant My holy name, Hare
Hare.
The secret of success in Krishna Consciousness
This is the most common question, that “you are telling me to chant but every time I chant my
mind wants to go everywhere, except the holy name. It's such a problem”. Why should you be
surprised? You have trained your mind from millions of births to drag your intelligence and
your senses wherever it wants to go. You have given the mind the complete power of attorney
to control your life. You have fed it the nourishment of total obedience birth after birth after
birth. You have created a monster out of your mind. So now you are surprised! It is absolutely
natural for the conditioned soul, the neophyte devotee, for the mind to be constantly wandering
elsewhere, but Krishna explains; you must simply endeavor with determination that whenever
and wherever the mind wanders, you bring it back. Hare Krishna. You simply hear the holy
name, it will come it will go, it come it will go. You must keep bringing it back to the holy
name. This is the sublime process, by practicing this process and by simply trying; Krishna sees
your endeavor and when He sees your endeavor that you are sincere, and you are giving
everything you can to keep your mind with Him, ananyas cinta yanto mam ye janah paryupasate
tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamyaham, then He takes the rest. He will preserve what
you have & carry what you lack. That is the secret of success in Krishna Consciousness.
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There is one God for all the religions of the world
Today most people have a very superficial ritualistic approach to God. In America; probably in
India as well; in the Christian churches most people come and think that if they offer prayers if
they give their donation on Sunday then they are taking care of their religious part of life.
Religion is become more of a traditional social approach to God rather than a deep heart felt
approach; rather (than) a desire to surrender. Now what did Jesus teach in the bible? Lord Jesus
Christ taught either you are hot or you are cold but if you are lukewarm I spit you out. Now
Jesus is a representative of God. There is one God for all the religions of the world. Just like the
sun in the sky. It is the same sun for all the different countries of the world although in English
we call it the sun. In India you may call the Surya. In Spain they call sol, but it’s the same sun
but according to different languages he is addressed by different names. So similarly God has
different names Jehova, Allah, Rama, Krishna, Madhusudhana. But we are speaking about
different qualification, different qualities different characters that one supreme infinite God
who is the father of all livings beings.
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Holy Name is a worshipable murti
And in the same way, the Holy Name is a worshipable murti. In fact, in the age of Kali yuga, it
is the most important murti or form of the Lord. Srila Prabhupada explained the difference
between so many other temples where everything is just centered around worshipping the
deity. In this age of Kali yuga that simply does not work. We make our life centered around the
deity in the temple because that helps to facilitate us actually approaching Him through His
name. Everything we do in deity worship is connected with the name of Krishna. You cannot
make a single offering without the name of Krishna. And when the devotees come before the
deities they practise the yuga dharma, which gives the greatest pleasure to the deities. And that
is coming together to dance gracefully, to chant the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
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Is there over endeavouring in devotional service?
If you are getting enough rest to keep body and soul together and you sadhana is very strong and faithful,
and you are fulfilling the essential responsibilities in your life, then there is no possibility of over
endeavour in devotional service. Over endeavour means when we lose our good intelligence of how to
balance our life properly in Krishna consciousness. If we have no time to read, no time to properly chant
our japa, no time to come and associate with devotees, if we are neglecting certain important principles,
then it is disservice. As long as we are keeping the basic principles of sadhana and keeping body, health
and soul together nicely and maintaining the responsibilities that are basic within our varna or ashram,
then there is no question of over endeavour. If you are leading a bad example by neglecting certain
principles, then that is over endeavour. If you are working so hard that you are getting sick and tired, your
mind is becoming crazy due to lack of proper regulation, then that is over endeavour. If you are trying to
collect far more than what is required, then that is over endeavour. However, if our sadhana and our basic
regulation to keep body and soul together is in order, then endeavour with your heart and soul. Don't hold
back. Sometimes we endeavour so hard for something which is less important and we neglect something
which is more important. We should take good guidance for that. If a husband neglects his family, that is
an over endeavour for one service but an under endeavour for a service that is very sacred and must be
maintained properly. The overall result will be - problems in Krishna consciousness. If we have a
particular career like a businessman, and we endeavour for giving a portion of money to Krishna, but we
are neglecting our family, we are neglecting our children, neglecting our sadhana, neglecting proper
reading, then that is over endeavour. That is why we need to have a spiritual master and senior Vaishnavas
to guide us, to create a proper balance in our life by which we can put our heart and soul in full endeavour
in such a way that we perform the greatest service and make the best progress in our devotional service.
His Holiness Radhanath Maharaj
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Part 1
The supreme expression of love between two human beings is manifested during kirtan of
the Lord
There is a beautiful story in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's lila, there was a devotee. His name was
Gauridas Pandit. In Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu's lila, Radha and Krishna, Sri Krishna Caitanya
Radha Krishna nahi anya, Radha Krishna appeared in one form, Krishna with a heart of prema
bhakti, maha bhava, of Sri Radha Rani and with the complexion of Srimati Radha Rani. Radha
and Krishna became one to reveal the divine love of Goloka Vrindavan to the world and
similarly Lord Balaram, appeared as Lord Nityananda, brajandra nandana yei sacisuta hoilo sei
Balarama hoilo Nitai. Brajendra Nandana- Sri Nanda Maharaja's divine son appeared as saci suta
- Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu and Balaram has incarnated in the form of Lord Nityananda, and
along with Them, so many of Their eternal associates appeared. The twelve gopas, the favorite
cowherd boys of Sri Krishna all appeared in the form of the gopis of Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu, as well as the principal gopis and manjaris. Lalita sakhi appeared as Svarupa
Damodara Gosvami. Visakha sakhi appeared as Ramananda Raya. Rupa manjari appeared as
Srila Rupa Gosvami. So of the twelve gopas, Subal, one of the dearest friends of Krishna and
Balarama; he appeared as Gauri Das Pandit. And Gauri Das Pandit, he lived in a village and it
was very close to the village of Navadvipa, where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was performing
His wonderful pastimes. Gauri Das Pandit would regularly, with the ecstasy of great love, join
the beautiful kirtan performance of Nitai Gaurchandra.
In the twenty fourth year of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's lila, He decided that I have come to
this earth to spread the message of the pure love of God, bhakti through the Yuga-dharma, of
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nama Sankirtan, but the people are not listening to Me very much. There is a core of very very
sincere devotees here in Navadvipa but what about the rest of the world. I should give up My
grihastha ashram and take sannyas, because then people will take everything I say very
seriously. And whether they believe Me or not, they will offer obeisance’s to Me. They will bow
to Me, and because I am the Supreme Godhead, when they bow to Me, they will become
purified.
So before taking sannyas, He and Lord Nityananda went to the village of Gauri Das Pandit and
told him what they were about to do. And Lord Chaitanya said His plan was to go to
Vrindavan and stay there. So He was bidding farewell to Gauridas and upon hearing this,
Gauri Das Pandit became very very much sorrowful. He began to cry and to weep and to cry
and to lament the imminent separation from the Lord of his life. He was begging the Lord
please you cannot go. You must not go. You must nor leave my home. I insist, I demand,
whatever it takes, but please if you leave me I am sure to die. And he fell at the lotus feet of
Lord Nityanand and Lord Gauranga and bathed Their lotus feet with his tears completely
immersed in divine thoughts of love.
Part 2
Krishna is always imprisoned by His own sweet will
We were explaining that Krishna is always imprisoned by His own sweet will, by the mind
that always remembers Him in love. So Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityanand
seeing the plight of Gauri Das Pandit, who knew nothing in the world except Their lotus feet,
the Lord said, "All right we will manifest to you beautiful murtis of Ourselves which look
identical to Ourselves. And in this way we will always be within your home and you can cook
for us and you can have kirtan for us. And you can bathe us and dress us and just offer to your
hearts content all of your love." So just then Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Lord
Nityanand Prabhu raised Their arms in Their classical pose of kirtan as They have appeared at
Sri Sri Radha Gopinath temple and from Their bodies came two beautiful deities that looked
identical to them. There were two Lord Nityanandas and two Lord Caitanyas and they said,
"All right, now we are going, we have a preaching mission. There are so many millions of
conditioned souls out there. Now I must go." And Gauri Das Pandit said, "No, no, no, please do
not go. Let me first cook for all of you." So he cooked a wonderful feast of prasad and offered it.
And then when it was time to go, “please do not go”. They said, "but there is no difference
between the murtis and ourselves. And there is absolutely no difference." So Gauri Das Pandit
was very intelligent. So he said, "Ah! There is no difference, so let the murtis go and you stay."
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is captured by the love of His devotees. So they said all
right. So Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityanand raised Their arms and They became more
pleased. And the murtis put down Their arms and started walking out. And Gauri Das Pandit
fell at the Lotus Feet of the two Lords that were coming out and said, "no, no, no! Please you
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cannot go! You please, you cannot go. I beg you, you don't go. I will die, I cannot live without
you." “But we are here we are not different from the murtis”. “Ah! Then let the murtis go, well
you stay”. So they raised their arms; became murtis and the murtis put down Their arms and
started walking away. This went on again and again.
Finally Gauri Das Pandit was running back and forth, finally he said, " My Lord, You are the
Supreme independent Personality of Godhead, ultimately, You must do what You must do. But
I will worship You here with my heart and soul. I know nothing but you my Lord." sadhunam
hrdayyam mahyam sadhunam hrdayyam tv aham mad-anyat te na janante naham tebhyo manag api. In
the Bhagvatam, Lord Narayan says that the sadhu he knows nothing but Me and therefore I
know nothing but the sadhu. His mind is always immersed in thoughts of Me. Therefore My
mind is always immersed in thoughts of him. He has sacrificed everything in this world for
My sake. Therefore ye yatha mam prapadyante tams kathaiva bajamya aham. Therefore I must
sacrifice everything of My own for His sake for His pleasure.
Part 3
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is captured by the love of His devotees
So in this way the Lord was worshipped by Gauridas Pandit with such love and such devotion.
But it is explained that after many many years he started becoming very old. And every day he
would cook a wonderful feast of dozens and dozens of preparations for the pleasure of Nitai
Gaursundar. And every day just for his pleasure he would actually see with his own eyes that
lord Sri Gauranga and Nityananda Prabhu ate that bhoga. But one day they did not eat. So he
was; he began to cry, “What offense have I committed. My dear Lord why you are not eating
my food? Have I committed some offense? If you do not eat how will I ever be able to eat? Why
should I even go on living if you are not willing to accept my service”? So seeing such love,
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda spoke to him through the form of the murti
and said, “It is not like that. It is not that we don't like your food.” “Well if You don't like it just
tell me I’ll cook something else right now. Just tell me what you want?”. They said, “NO, NO
the problem is this; you are very old and it is so much trouble for you to cook everyday like this
-patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaklya prayacchati. If you offer us a Tulsi leaf we are
satisfied. There is no need for so such elaborate arrangements. It breaks Our hearts to see you
working so hard. Just give us something simple, We will accept it. It is your love that nourishes
Our hearts”. Ah if that is your desire then I'll do so.
On another occasion Gauridas Pandit was thinking how wonderful it would be to get beautiful
jewelry, beautiful garlands, beautiful clothes for my Nitai Gauranga and decorate them so
nicely. But he had very little money. And also he was very old. Where can he get all these
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things? So when he came into the temple room that day; he saw the most gorgeous beautiful
silken garments, jewelry and garlands decorating the deities and Nitai Gauranga. Ah they
simply smiled at him. Because your desire is simply to please Us our only desire is to please
you.
Part 4
The The great devotees of the Lord their anger is transcendental
It is explained that Gauridas Pandit had many many disciples because of the simplicity of his
pure love for Krishna. People would come from all directions to take shelter of his lotus feet.
One of his disciples his name was Hriday Chaitanya. Ah!!! Hriday Chaitanya it is very
interesting how he received his name from Gauridas Pandit. What took place is this. Gauridas
Pandit, he learnt that very soon was approaching Gaur Purnima; the divine appearance day of
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and he wanted to celebrate and invite all his disciples from all
directions to come to his beautiful temple and offer the love of their congregational kirtan to the
Lord. So Gauridas explained this to Hriday Chaitanya. Then he left the city; he had some work
to do and Gauridas Pandit didn’t come back for some days and Hriday was thinking, Ah if we
do not send out the invitations very soon people will not have time to come. My Guru Maharaj
is gone. So he sent out invitations to everyone and then Gauridas Pandit returned and Hriday
Chaitanya told him. And Gauridas Pandit said "You are a rascal. Why did you send these
invitations without consulting your spiritual master? This is disobedience you cannot make
spiritual advancement without the blessings of Gurudev. Therefore get out of here; go live on
the bank of the Ganges. Don't live in my ashram any longer”.
We must understand that when great personalities get angry it is not like the anger of a
conditioned soul. Krishna says in the Gita that: dhyayato visayan pumsah sangas tesupajayate
that when one contemplates the objects of senses with ones mind; attachment takes place; from
such attachment lust and when our material desires are unfulfilled krodha….. krodhad bhavali
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sammohah. We become angry and from that anger we lose our intelligence and fall down into
material life. But the great devotees of the Lord their anger is transcendental. It is only meant
for the betterment of their disciples. It is only meant to teach a lesson to stress the importance
of something because such great souls isvara sarva bhutanam hrd dese arjuna tishtati. They are
simply being directed by Krishna. So Hriday Chaitanya felt very bad and he went to the bank of
the Ganges and there he sat lamenting, "What a sinful person I am!" Then a very wealthy man
came to him. He was on a boat. He met Hriday Chaitanya. Hriday Chaitanya preached to him
for sometime and he told him about his Guru Gauri Das Pandit. He said, "Oh! Such a great
guru. He made a disciple like you. Please give him this donation and he gave him a large sum
of money. So Hriday Chaitanya came back to Gauri Das Pandit, "I have all this money, it is
yours." Gauri Das Pandit said, "Yes that is why I sent you to the Ganges. Because we needed
money to put on this festival for Lord Chaitanya's birthday."
Part 5
All ego, all material designations dissolve in the sound of Krishna's name
So they made wonderful, wonderful, elaborate arrangements and all the devotee's came and
Gauridas Pandit, he was very old, so he was staying in his little Kutir. And meanwhile, all the
devotees led by his principle disciple, Hriday Chaitanya, they went to the bank of the Ganges. It
was Mahaprabhu’s birthday. And they began wonderful, wonderful kirtan. They were chanting
the holy names, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare with such enthusiasm and such devotion and love. Krishna says to
Narada Muni, tatra tishtami Narada Yatra gayanti mad bhakta . “That you will not find Me in the
Himalayas where the yogis are meditating, you will not find Me in the scholarly institutions
where the pundits and scholar's are studying the shastra. You will not find Me where great
souls are performing karma kanda sacrifices. You will find Me wherever My devotees come
together to chant My holy name. That is where I eternally reside”. So they are having such
beautiful kirtan together. The supreme expression of love between two human beings is
manifested during kirtan of the Lord because all ego, all material designations dissolve in
the sound of Krishna's name. There is no question of high class, low class. There is no question
of I am better than you. Everyone's mind is simply immersed that together we are praising the
greatness of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. And the intimacy awakened through the process of
kirtan amongst human beings is the sweetest and most pleasing to Bhagavan Sri Krishna.
Part 6
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Krishna is imprisoned by His own divine mercy within our minds
So as they were chanting, the kirtan was at such a crescendo of Bhakti that right before
everyone’s eyes, this was many many years after Lord Nityananda and Lord Chaitanya had
already disappeared from this world; right before everyone’s eyes, Sriman Mahaprabhu Lord
Gaurachandra and Sri Nityananda Prabhu, They appeared and They began dancing, dancing in
the center of all the devotees. And when the devotees saw this, they were struck with wonder.
Tears were flowing from the cores of their hearts as they were resounding tumultuously the
holy names, “Jai Satchinandana, Jai Satchinandana”. And at that time the temple, which was
some distance away, the pujari whose name was Ganga Das Pandit, he went to offer seva to the
murtis. And when he went into the temple, the deities were gone. He began to look all around
for Them, where They could be? Did somebody steal Them? Nobody could steal Them and he
was looking here, there, everywhere. He called Gauridas Pandit, his Guru Maharaj. The deities
are gone! And meanwhile, they looked a distance away and they saw the bank of the Ganges,
there was Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, the murtis dancing with all the devotees. Then
Gauridas Pandit very old, he was afraid, very much afraid, "Oh! That is Gaura Nitai, if they
start dancing with the devotees, They may dance away and I may never see Them again. He
was always afraid They were going to leave him. So he took a stick in his hand and he went to
make sure They went back in the temple. Ahhhh!!!!!
Part 7
The process is to simply keep the mind with Krishna
So when Lord Gauranga and Lord Nityananda saw Gauridas Pandit coming with a stick, They
became very much afraid and They were thinking, "Where should we hide!" and he was coming
closer and closer and they were looking around and they saw there was no place for them to
run. So all of a sudden They entered the heart of Hriday Chaitanya, the disciple. And when
Gauridas Pandit saw this, he fell at the feet of Hriday Chaitanya and offered his obeisance’s to
his own disciple. He said, "You are the most fortunate of all fortunate beings because the
Supreme Lord has taken shelter within the core of your heart. And then he named him Hriday
Chaitanya! Hriday Chaitanya means that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is always within his heart.
And then the deities again manifested on the altar and everyone came back and had beautiful
aratik ceremony. And in this way, they celebrated in such a wonderful way, the divine
appearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu! So through these wonderful stories we learn that
spiritual life is not simply the labor of struggling to somehow or other curb the restless nature
of the mind, at the beginning it may be hrisikesa hrisikesa sevanam bhaktir ucyate The
impersonalists, the astanga yogis, they are trying to control their minds by the artificial process
of just dragging the mind and fixing it on a particular object. But in the divine school of
Bhagavat Dharma, this is not the process. The process is to simply keep the mind with
Krishna, just to surrender to Him, just to leave it to Him. Don't ever let go of the lotus feet of
Sri Krishna. And through this process, Krishna personally appears within our hearts.
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Part 8
Put our mind and attention always fixed on that goal
And when He appears within our hearts, through the process of sadhana bhakti, which means
discipline, we become purified by the grace of guru and Gauranga. And in the purified state,
we attain that stage called Raga bhakti, where Krishna is spontaneously revealing Himself
within our hearts, within our minds, 24 hours a day. And it is that state of raga bhakti, which
gives one entrance into bhava and prema, pure love of God. And the devotees of the Lord they
care nothing for anything except that na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisha kamaye
mama janmani janamanisvare bhavatad bhakti ahiistuki tvayi Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has taught
us through this sacred prayer of the Siksastakam, I don't want any amount of wealth, people are
laboring like mudhas, like beasts of burden, simply for a little wealth, proprietorship. Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu says, "I don't want any of that. And I do not want beautiful beautiful women to
enjoy the company of people who are mad after the opposite sex. And I do not want fame and
followers”. Some people they give up wealth, they give up beautiful women, they become
gurus and yogis develop some power and then they enjoy a higher type of sense gratification to
be worshipped, idolized, to have followers glorifying you and worshipping you. Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu says, "I do not want any of that!" and others when they are frustrated with all
these things, they want to seek shelter of mukti, liberation where they never have to suffer
again, they never have to take birth in this material world again. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says,
“I do not want liberation or salvation. My heart and mind is fixed on one goal in life, mama
janmani janmanishvare bhavatad bhakti ahihtuki tvayi My Lord that I may be engaged in Your
loving service birth after birth. naham vipro na ca nara-patir napivaisyo na sudro naham varni
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na ca grha-patir no yatir va gopi bhartuh pada kamalayor dasa dasa anudasa. Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu explained that there is only one goal of life worth aspiring for, to be the servant of
the servant of the servant of all the servants of Gopi Bhartuh, Gopi Bhartuh, means Gopinath,
the Lord of the Gopis, Sri Krishna.
Therefore we must put our mind and attention always fixed on that goal, and do whatever it
takes we will give up anything, or accept anything for that goal alone in our life. We will
associate intimately only with those people who have targeted all their attention in life, toward
that goal of seeking refuge at the lotus feet of Sri Hari. And that refuge is so easily available in
this age of Kali Yuga, because the complete pure refuge of the feet of Godhead can be found by
anyone in any circumstances by simply with a sincere and attentive mind chanting His holy
name, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama
Rama Hare Hare.
Thank you very much.
Simply understand the goal and purpose
All the religion of the world were not meant to teach a sectarian concept which breeds hate,
envy, rivalry, terrorism, violence and war. But the various religions in the world are meant to
bring about love of God, which creates compassion, harmony and unity among fellowmen,
amongst all living beings. Indeed when Lord Jesus was asked what is the first and foremost of
all commandments; he did not say to be a Christian. He said to love God with all your heart,
all your mind and all your soul. And one who is doing that, is a Christian; not one who simply
says I am a Christian and makes the cross and goes to the church and prays; but one who
hopelessly, helplessly, helplessly cries on for the mercy of God and through that process
develops love of God; he is a Christian. Similarly in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says “sarva-
dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma
sucah”. He says abandon all other varieties of religion; abandon all your conceptions of your
traditions and rituals and everything else; and simply understand that the goal and purpose is
to surrender to the Supreme God; to love God. What Krishna is saying and Lord Jesus Christ is
saying is identical and the Srimad Bhagvatam says, “dharmah svanusthitah pumsam
visvaksena-kathasu yah, notpadayed yadi ratim srama eva hi kevalam” That whatever religion
you follow, what ever you call it; if in the end; it does not develop pure love of God, surrender
to God, helplessly crying out for the mercy of God then all your religious practice all your
affiliations is simply a waste of time.
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Because they are sick
I heard many of our previous brothers spoke this evening to discuss how an alcoholic is not a
bad man, not a mad man but a sick man. That is true but it is not only true for the alcoholics
but it is true for the entire human society today. Practically everyone within this society is sick
and if you read the newspapers you will find very very substantial evidence of that. There is
violence, there is terrorism, there is greed, there is so much sinful activities going on in this
world, which is causing so much suffering individually & collectively even in the name of
religion. In my country, America, the wealthiest people are most inclined to become drug
addicts, to have to go to psychiatrists, to psychologists because of tremendous mental anxieties.
They have to take sleeping pills just to fall asleep at night. Why? Because they are sick and they
are engaging in the grossest worst type of sinful activities, which were against the laws of God.
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Not bad not mad but sick
Not only that but the wealthiest people in America are most inclined to commit suicide, more
than any other class of people in the world. Why is that? Because they are sick. Within our
prisons all over the world, we find murderers, rapist, robber, extortionists, child molesters,
smugglers. Why are they in that prison? They are not bad men, they are not mad men but they
are sick. Lord Jesus Christ described what is the use if you gain the whole world if you loose
your eternal soul. By his definition, anyone who is chasing after the illusory things of this world
and not looking his relationship with God, loosing the integrity of his own soul that person is a
sick man. And I think 99.9 percent of the human society falls in that category today. Would you
all agree? Sick man, not bad not mad but sick. Now until you humble yourself to admit that
you are sick, you will not turn to accept the medicine, the remedy for your sickness. According
to all he great preceptors throughout all history, the remedy for the disease of the society is to
cry out for the mercy of God in a hopeless and helpless condition completely depending upon
him and him alone.
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What is our natural condition?
The greatest disease is false pride. I will recite an example from the Bible. Lord Jesus Christ was
traveling through out Palestine Jerusalem area spreading the pure message of love of God. His
message was seeking out the kingdom of God but the kingdom of God is within you. Ah. If you
do not understand the kingdom of God within you, you are a sick man because you are in an
unnatural condition. In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna says, “mamaivamso jiva-loke jiva-bhutah
sanatanah”. That every living being is part of God. All the qualities of God is within you, you
are eternal, you are full of bliss you are eternally the servant of God. In the Upanishads it is
explained nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam that there is one supreme eternal person and there
are infinite subordinate dependent eternal persons who are we, and we are constantly
depending and under the supreme command of that one Supreme God. So this is our natural
condition to know God and to love God.
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Crying out for the mercy of God
Lord Jesus was preaching this message (to love God), he was not preaching a sectarian
dogmatic concept but the universal principle of love of God. Now there were a class of men of
that time called the feracies who were the most pious, the most externally religious. They knew
the scriptures very well, they knew the rituals perfectly, they knew the tradition expertly, but
they were proud of their spiritual position and because of their pride, they considered
themselves very healthy spiritually. And thus they never learnt the art of falling at the feet of
God and the holy men. So these feracies once invited Lord Jesus to their house to take some
food and while he was there, a very low class ostracized prostitute; she came to the door and
these men, these priest said that you cannot come in our home, you are a low class prostitute,
you are an out-caste, you will contaminate our house if you will come in. And Jesus told her to
come in because he saw that she had a sincere heart and she fell at Lord Jesus Christ feet and
she began to cry and with her hair, she soaked her hair with tears and began to wash his feet
with her tears and the priest were thinking what is this so called holy man allowing this low
class women to touch him and they began to condemn him. And he turned towards them and
explained, as suffering as she is, as sinful as she is, she is genuinely repentant and crying out for
the mercy of God. She is crying out for my help but you men, you are not crying out, Jesus was
indirectly telling them you should become like this prostitute because this prostitute
understood that she was suffering, she was totally rejected, she knew she was sinful and in her
heart she was crying out because she understood the gravity of her sins, the gravity of her
offenses and she had no one and nobody to turn to and accept her except God. Because of this
approach she became one of the greatest saints in Christian histories, Mary Magdalene. She
gave up her prostitution; she developed a pure life because she called out for the higher power
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of the mercy of God. She overcame all her obstacles whereas these high priests they just went
on through their life with all their pride thinking themselves very good, very religious, very
pious, never understanding what is religion, what is the goal of life.
Tomorrow never comes
Tomorrow never comes. The present moment is the only reality. Now is the time for God
consciousness. It doesnt mean becoming a devotee. It means, sincerely and intensely, as a
devotee, calling out for Krishna, putting Krishna first in our life, first in our family, first in our
business, first in everything. It means that there is nothing else so important in this entire
creation to prevent us from associating with the Lords devotees and hearing and chanting the
glories of the Lord in their company. Nothing is so urgent in this entire creation to keep us
from faithfully chanting the Lords names each day.
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A universal principle
You know there is a saying in English that the darkest moment is before the dawn. Whether
there is trial, suffering and tribulation, the great things are achieved. There is a story in the
Srimad Bhagvatam about a very very wealthy businessman who had a very nice family and
everything was going on in the grand illusion of material comforts and then some robbers and
thieves came and they stole his property and burnt his house, they destroyed his business. His
family members considered he is useless, his friends in high society found no prestige in being
with him; every one rejected him. This man was all alone and with nothing; laying on the
ground crying. For weeks he lay there crying, he didn’t even know how to get food, and in this
condition he came to the realization that ‘I am hopeless and I am helpless, only God can save
me’ And as soon as he came to that realization; faith awakened within his heart and in that
faith, there was infinite hope and you know to the degree we surrender to God, to take shelter
of Him giving up our own pride and prestige; to that degree God will personally appear in
our life and pick us up and help us. Whoever we are whatever religion we are, it is a universal
principle. And because of his helpless hopeless crying for the mercy of God, he became a great
saint. He found infinite peace, happiness and satisfaction within his own heart and then he
shared that love with the world and became one of the most greatest loved people in the whole
society because then he had something to give; until he lost everything that he was proud of in
life he could not attain the treasure within his own heart by which he can truly give love to
others, truly help others.
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Opportunity to enter into the spiritual world
person relief from the bodies for some time but to give a person the mercy of Sri Caitanya
sincere compassion are actually performing the greatest welfare activity of all creation and
what you give through Srila Prabhupada's books and other great Acharya; should also be
exemplified. In this age if Kali-Yuga, the chanting of Hare Krishna Mahamantra is the most
wonderful and joyful life can be in the association of devotees chanting the Holy Name.
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Who is sober
But a sober man is a person who understands his helpless condition in this material world and
turns to God and cries out for God and says, “my dear Lord, from this day, I am yours, I need
you, I want you, I have no one but you who can ultimately save me and those persons who
remind me of you, those persons who bring me closer to you, they are my real friend in this
world”. One who develops this intelligence, he is sober. So I am very proud to say that this
Alcoholic Anonymous organization is really an organization of sober people. The people sitting
in this room are probably more sober than 95% of the population of Bombay. I give lectures and
speeches at temples, mandirs, churches, peoples’ homes, universities, colleges throughout this
city. And looking at your faces and hearing your words, I can say that you are the most sober
people I found in the city. I am speaking honestly because you people have been given a
blessing. What is that blessing? That it is being revealed to you; your own weaknesses. It is
being revealed to you that with all your power, with all your might, with all your influence;
you cannot save yourself from suffering, embarrassment. There are forces and powers in this
world far greater than you and only the higher power of God can save you. You know what
Lord Jesus Christ said, he said, the meek shall inherit the kingdom of God, not the proud.
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Who realises God as the friend, the savior and the helper
Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, there are 4 types of people who turn to God. Those who are
in distress, those who are in poverty, those who are inquisitive, those who sincerely seek the
absolute. Inquisitive people are very rare. Because mostly inquisitive people, they mostly want
to learn for their own mental understanding. But they never really make much difference in
their lives. I give lectures at many colleges. I give lectures at universities, churches. People are
very inquisitive, but they fear. Their questions are unanswered. They get some intellectual
satisfaction and they just go on with their lives. Very very rarely do they seek the absolute truth.
But a person who is in distress, the real distress; realizes ‘my dear Lord I am helpless. Only you
can save me. I am your servant. Please help me’. Queen Kunti has said, akincan gocara- that the
Supreme Lord is the property of those who are impoverished condition, who are proud of
nothing; those people whose pride in life has been smashed and they have nothing to be proud
of themselves, all of their self pride has been smashed to pieces; such people who turn to God in
that state, God becomes their property. He becomes their friend, their savior, their helper.
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Two most important factors
Now how do we turn to God in a helpless condition of life? There are two most important
factors. According to all great religions in the world, one is, we must seek the association of
those people who draw us nearer to God. In other words we must associate with saintly
persons. A saintly person is not necessarily one who wears saffron robes or one who wears a
color white collar, or has matted hair. A saintly person is one who is humbling himself before
God, and surrendering to the will of God and who is sharing that message with others. The
first and most important consideration in spiritual development is to associate with saintly
persons. Associating with people who are striving on the path to God. It is one of the basic
principles of Alcoholic Anonymous to give up alcohol, you have to first give up those persons
who are in that direction and give up the association (of those) who are constantly perpetuating
the sickness that is causing their suffering. And the second most simple and sublime means of
curing this disease in our heart is to chant the name of God.
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How to chant the name of God?
In the Bible it is said chant the name of God and you will be saved. It is spoken by King David
and sons. And in the New Testament be the name of God and the divine prayer, we pray that
the name of God is divine. It is holy. In the Muslim Scriptures, there are so many references to
call upon the name of Allah and be saved from all the disasters of this world. And in the Vedas
it is described, harer nama harer nama harer nama eva kevalam kalaunastevya nastevya
nastevya gatir anyatha- that there is no more simple and sublime process for anyone and
everyone to approach God than chanting His holy name. But how to chant the name of God?
Many of you have seen the Mahabharat on the TV. How many of you watch the Mahabharata
on TV, please raise your hand. Everyone? You know a few weeks ago I had a lecture in a college
in Andheri. And I was driving from Chowpatty. And the lecture was at ten. We left at nine.
And usually to get to Andheri, it takes about an hour and a half. We made in about twenty-five
minutes because the streets were deserted. They were no cars. There were no people on the
sidewalk. It was like a ghost town. Because everyone was watching Mahabharata! And as soon
as Mahabharata finished, right within five minutes all the traffic, all the people, everything was
congested. So it is very popular. A few weeks ago you saw the story of the trial of Draupadi.
How the great powerful hero of the Kuru dynasty, Dushashan, the leading brother of
Duryodhana, grabbed her by her hair and dragged her in to the court of the Kurus. Now
understand Draupadi’s position. She was a princess. She was born of King Drupada. She was
born of the highest family. She had immense wealth. She had every opulence that a person
could ever want. She was very intelligent. She was very beautiful, high birth, good family. She
had everything. But she was put in a situation beyond her control where she was helpless.
Dushashana was ordered to strip her naked. Because for a chaste woman to be naked before
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men is worse than death. And for her, it was Dushashana was pulling at her sari, she was
pulling back thinking, Ah I can protect myself. But she realized that all her strength and
everything she had was useless. She was helpless. And in this helpless condition she called out
the name of God, Hey Krishna! Hey Govinda! And because of the quality of utter dependence
on the mercy of God, knowing her helpless condition, Krishna immediately responded to the
quality of her chanting and saved her.
Take your problem as a blessing of God
God reciprocates according to the quality of how we call out for him. So please understand, you
are in the perfect situation to attain the highest goal of life because you know you are sick. You
realize your weakness. You can call out the name of God and chant the name of God helplessly,
hopelessly as Draupadi did. And have faith, complete faith that if you chant the name of God
with the same sincerity that Draupadi did, just as He came for her and just as He had for all the
great saints throughout history who have come to the same conclusion as Draupadi. So please
take the opportunity God has given you, take your problem as a blessing of God. See that the
doors are open wide for you in the kingdom of God. Take shelter of holy men, holy women and
cry out for the name of God. And have complete faith that He will respond. He will save you.
He will give you all the strength to overcome your weakness. He will give you the divine life;
eternal peace and He will give you the opportunity to share the eternal peace and that divine
happiness with everyone you come in contact within life. There is no greater pleasure than that.
Thank you very much!
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Chaitanya Charitamrita is the postgraduate study of the Bhagavatam
“I offer my obeisance’s to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by whose mercy an ignorant child can swim
across an ocean of conclusive the truth which is full of crocodiles of various species”.
This is an elaboration emanating from the pure devoted heart of Kaviraj Goswami. From the
beginning of Bhagavatam we kick out all the lesser forms of religiosity, economic development,
sense gratification and liberation. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu called Bhagavatam as Amala Purana-
spotless Purana. This is the only Vedic literature which is untainted by any lesser degree of
materialist conception, therefore it is very pure and the cream of all Vedic literature. And it is
described that Chaitanya Charitamrita is the postgraduate study of the Bhagavatam.
Bhagavad Gita concludes: Abandon all varieties of religion and surrender unto Krishna. Srimad
Bhagavatam also begins from that point:
dharma projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam

vedyam vastavam atra vastu sivadam tapa-trayonmulanam
srimad-bhagavate maha-muni-krte kim va parair isvarah
sadyo hrdy avarudhyate ‘tra krtibhih susrusubhis tat-ksanat
(Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata
Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully
pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such
truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage
Vyāsadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any
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other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam,
by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.)
In the first nine cantos of Bhagavatam we read beautiful narrations of pure devotees of the Lord
and how they came to that point of utterly surrendering unto Krishna in pure devotional
service. How they came to that stage and what were their activities and beautiful prayers that
they offered to the Lord in their total heart of surrender to Krishna. From this, we can enter into
the tenth canto where this pure unmotivated love of Krishna has crystallized to intensive
degree of prema bhakti which means entering in the primary rasas in the spiritual world: Santa
Rasa, Dasya Rasa, Sakhya Rasa, Madhurya Rasa, Vatsalya Rasa. And the conclusion -- the
ultimate end of Srimad Bhagavatam is describing the nature of the love of damsels of braja
towards Lord Shyamsundara -- the conjugal love affairs. All the residents of braja are tainted
with the sweetness of ecstasy of conjugal love. Although the parents, friends although they
have the conjugal mood, because the atmosphere is so strongly pervaded by the Gopis they are
mixed with the mood of parental and Sakhya Rasa. Those Rasas are primary. But in the love of
gopis it is pure, unadulterated, conjugal love. Srimad Bhagavatam ends at that point and Sri
Caitanya Caritramita begins at that point. The ultimate of conjugal love of gopis in Vrindavan
as explained in Srimad Bhagavatam is the separation experienced by Srimati Radharani for
Lord Krishna. We find in rasa lila although it is not explained Srimati Radharani or any other
gopis names directly. Of the conjugal lovers of Krishna, in Vraja dhama it is not mentioned a
single name of gopis or manjari, in Bhagavatam because Sukadev Gosvami who was actually an
incarnation of one of the parrots of Vrindavan who was a very close associate of Srimati
Radharani and Lord Krishna. And he knew very well that love affairs of Radha and Krishna.
But such a confidential subject matter. And because he was sitting in the assembly of great
sages, with Pariksit Maharaj, there were many he felt were not fit to hear the beautiful name of
Srimati Radharani and it is also said, that on saying the name of Radharani, Sukadev Gosvami
would become so overwhelmed with transcendental emotion, that he would not have, been
able to continue his speech, his discourse and he had limited time, and therefore he very
purposely, he did not mention any name of the gopis in the conjugal love. He simply referred to
them, but the conclusion of his teachings is his reference of Krishna leaving all the other gopis
to be with Radharani, i.e. the ultimate conclusion of Bhagavatam Philosophy. The sweetness of
the pure love of Radha and Krishna and how the residents of Vraja dhama, are simply assisting
in their love affairs. Caitanya Caritramrita begins from that point where Lord Sri Krishna, is
explaining in the first chapter, He wants to understand the nature of ecstasy of Radharani’s
love. He wants to know that what is it about Himself that attracts Srimati Radharani to such a
degree. He wants to taste the sweetness of Radharani’s devotion. So in this way Lord Sri
Krishna appears in the conjugal sentiment of Sri Radharani, the heart soul and body of Srimati
Radharani with the heart of Sri Krishna. This is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Of course Krishna
satcinanda vigraha there is no difference in his heart soul body. It is all of the same pure
spiritual substance. He is non different but in this way Sri Krishna Caitanya Radha Krishna
nahi anya- Radha and Krishna have come together in one form in divine lila of Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu.
So from this point in view we must understand Krishna Das Kaviraja Gosvami in his great
ecstasy of love and devotion, he is describing that all of these other theories are like crocodiles
trying to disturb you, bite you, trying to divert your attention away from Krishna and coming
to the conclusive truth of pure devotional service.
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The essence of all Vedic knowledge
"ye me matam idam nityam anutisthanti manavah

sraddhavanto ' nasuyanto mucyante te 'pi karmabhih"
"Those persons who execute their duties, according to My injunctions and who follow those
teachings faithfully, without envy, become free from the bondage of fruitive actions." (B.G. 3.31)
In this sloka from the Bhagavad Gita, 3rd chapter, text no 31, Lord Sri Krishna is giving all those
who have the quality of sincerity, the great hope that they will achieve the perfection of pure
Krishna consciousness. The essence of all Vedic knowledge as described here by Srila
Prabhupada is to be Krishna conscious. To always remember Krishna and to never forget
Krishna. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the yuga avatar appeared in this Kali yuga, the age of
quarrel and hypocrisy, the age of darkness to teach us the simple and sublime message, the
process by which everyone can realise and practise what is the essence of all transcendental
knowledge, to always remember Krishna and that is through the congregational chanting of the
holy names and through learning to properly associate with the Vaisnavas, the devotees of the
Lord. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught that in this age of Kali, there are two religious
principles: The Holy Name of Krishna and the Association of Vaisnavas. Through properly
learning how to associate with the Lord's devotees and His names, sincerely, at whatever level
of consciousness we may be at now, we will most certainly approach the highest destination.

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Krishna is non different from His name
"bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma
sudurlabha" Krishna says, "After many births and deaths, one who is actually situated in
knowledge, by practicing all forms of religion, surrenders to Vasudev, knowing Him to be the
cause of all causes and all that is. "vedais ca sarvair aham eve vedyo vedanta krd veda vid eva
caham" Krishna says, "By all the Vedas, I am to be known". So Sri Caitanya has given us this
simple process. Krishna is non different from His name. Through sincerely chanting His name,
Krishna reveals everything from within our hearts. Those who take to this path of bhakti, they
can bypass all other injunctions of the scriptures, which primarily deal with the gradual
elevation of the soul, through the methods of karma kanda, gyana kanda, astanga kanda, yoga
kanda. The chanting of the holy name of the Lord is the fulfillment of all other paths of yoga
and religion.
397
How to chant the holy name of the Lord
How to chant the holy name of the Lord? Here Srila Prabhupada is explaining that it must be
done without envy and it must be done sincerely. And in order to approach the name of the
Lord sincerely, we have to learn how to approach the devotees of the Lord. Because we
have read and heard from the great acharyas that you cannot approach Krishna directly, we
must become the servant of the servant of His servants. And Krishna is non different than His
name. Can we approach the name of the Lord directly? In one sense when we come before the
beautiful forms of Sri Radha Rasabihari, it appears that we are approaching them directly. But
will they reveal themselves to us? Will the murti come to life in our heart, in our consciousness?
Only when we learn to serve the devotees, to serve the spiritual master, to serve the Vaisnavas,
when we approach the deity of the Lord in this spirit, then Krishna is pleased to reveal Himself
to us.
398
Becoming a sincere servant
Sri Gaurasunder taught us that by learning how to be humble in our service to the Vaisnavas,
we are in the proper state of consciousness in which we can approach the holy name sincerely.
And Srila Prabhupada explains here that even if one is in a neophyte position, even if one is
addicted to sinful activities, if one without envy follows these injunctions of becoming a sincere
servant of the Vaisnavas and sincerely endeavoring to chant the holy names, sincerely endeavor
to follow these regulative principles, then he should know for sure that he will not be defeated.
Krishna, the Supreme Power, Who is the controller of Maya, will certainly give great hope and
purification to our endeavor in spiritual life. So this is so important. What is the meaning of
sincerity? We can make a show of being great devotees, but unless we are deeply trying to
humble ourselves, our endeavor is not sincere. It is superficial. It is not pleasing to Krishna.
399
Who realises God as the friend, the sarvior and the helper
Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, there are 4 types of people who turn to God. Those who are
in distress, those who are in poverty, those who are inquisitive, those who sincerely seek the
absolute. Inquisitive people are very rare. Because mostly inquisitive people, they mostly want
to learn for their own mental understanding. But they never really make much difference in
their lives. I give lectures at many colleges. I give lectures at universities, churches. People are
very inquisitive, but they fear. Their questions are unanswered. They get some intellectual
satisfaction and they just go on with their lives. Very very rarely do they seek the absolute truth.
But a person who is in distress, the real distress; realizes ‘my dear Lord I am helpless. Only you
can save me. I am your servant. Please help me’. Queen Kunti has said, akincan gocara- that the
Supreme Lord is the property of those who are impoverished condition, who are proud of
nothing; those people whose pride in life has been smashed and they have nothing to be proud
of themselves, all of their self pride has been smashed to pieces; such people who turn to God in
that state, God becomes their property. He becomes their friend, their savior, their helper.
400
Chaitanya Charitamrita is the postgraduate study of the Bhagavatan
'I offer my obeisances to Caitanya Mahaprabhu by whose mercy an ignortance child can swim
across an ocean of conclusive the truth which is full of crocodiles of various species.'
This is an elaboration emanating from the pure devoted heart of Kaviraj Goswami. From the
beginning of Bhagavatam we kick out all the lesser forms of religiosity, economic development,
sense gratification and liberation. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu called Bhagavatam as Amala Purana-
spotless Purana. This is the only Vedic literature which is untainted by any lesser degree of
materialist conception, therefore it is very pure and the cream of all Vedic literature. And it is
described that Chaitanya Charitamrita is the postgraduate study of the Bhagavatam.
Bhagavad Gita concludes: Abandon all varieties of religion and surrender unto Krishna. Srimad
Bhagavatam also begins from that point:
dharma projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam

vedyam vastavam atra vastu sivadam tapa-trayonmulanam
srimad-bhagavate maha-muni-krte kim va parair isvarah
sadyo hrdy avarudhyate ‘tra krtibhih susrusubhis tat-ksanat
(Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata
Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully
pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such
truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage
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Vyāsadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any
other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam,
by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.)
In the first nine cantos of Bhagavatam we read beautiful narrations of pure devotees of the Lord
and how they came to that point of utterly surrendering unto Krishna in pure devotional
service. How they came to that stage and what were their activities and beautiful prayers that
they offered to the Lord in their total heart of surrender to Krishna. From this, we can enter into
the tenth canto where this pure unmotivated love of Krishna has crystallized to intensive
degree of prema bhakti which means entering in the primary rasas in the spiritual world: Santa
Rasa, Dasya Rasa, Sakhya Rasa, Madhurya Rasa, Vatsalya Rasa. And the conclusion -- the
ultimate end of Srimad Bhagavatam is describing the nature of the love of damsels of braja
towards Lord Shyamsundara -- the conjugal love affairs. All the residents of braja are tainted
with the sweetness of ecstasy of conjugal love. Although the parents, friends although they
have the conjugal mood, because the atmosphere is so strongly pervaded by the Gopis they are
mixed with the mood of parental and Sakhya Rasa. Those Rasas are primary. But in the love of
gopis it is pure, unadulterated, conjugal love. Srimad Bhagavatam ends at that point and Sri
Caitanya Caritramita begins at that point. The ultimate of conjugal love of gopis in Vrindavan
as explained in Srimad Bhagavatam is the separation experienced by Srimati Radharani for
Lord Krishna. We find in rasa lila although it is not explained Srimati Radharani or any other
gopis names directly. Of the conjugal lovers of Krishna, in Vraja dhama it is not mentioned a
single name of gopis or manjari, in Bhagavatam because Sukadev Gosvami who was actually an
incarnation of one of the parrots of Vrindavan who was a very close associate of Srimati
Radharani and Lord Krishna. And he knew very well that love affairs of Radha and Krishna.
But such a confidential subject matter. And because he was sitting in the assembly of great
sages, with Pariksit Maharaj, there were many he felt were not fit to hear the beautiful name of
Srimati Radharani and it is also said, that on saying the name of Radharani, Sukadev Gosvami
would become so overwhelmed with transcendental emotion, that he would not have, been
able to continue his speech, his discourse and he had limited time, and therefore he very
purposely, he did not mention any name of the gopis in the conjugal love. He simply referred to
them, but the conclusion of his teachings is his reference of Krishna leaving all the other gopis
to be with Radharani, i.e. the ultimate conclusion of Bhagavatam Philosophy. The sweetness of
the pure love of Radha and Krishna and how the residents of Vraja dhama, are simply assisting
in their love affairs. Caitanya Caritramrita begins from that point where Lord Sri Krishna, is
explaining in the first chapter, He wants to understand the nature of ecstasy of Radharani’s
love. He wants to know that what is it about Himself that attracts Srimati Radharani to such a
degree. He wants to taste the sweetness of Radharani’s devotion. So in this way Lord Sri
Krishna appears in the conjugal sentiment of Sri Radharani, the heart soul and body of Srimati
Radharani with the heart of Sri Krishna. This is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Of course Krishna
satcinanda vigraha there is no difference in his heart soul body. It is all of the same pure
spiritual substance. He is non different but in this way Sri Krishna Caitanya Radha Krishna
nahi anya- Radha and Krishna have come together in one form in divine lila of Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu.
So from this point in view we must understand Krishna Das Kaviraja Gosvami in his great
ecstasy of love and devotion, he is describing that all of these other theories are like crocodiles
trying to disturb you, bite you, trying to divert your attention away from Krishna and coming
to the conclusive truth of pure devotional service.
402
Sincerely seek shelter of the holy name
We must be sincere. We must endeavor and strive and pray for this sincerity. To become the
servant of the servant of the servant. To realise that we are insignificant and fallen before God
and that it is our only hope to take shelter of His devotees and the holy name. In our japa, in our
kirtan, to sincerely seek shelter of the holy name. These are the main duties for a Vaisnava. It is
explained in the Bhagavatam "atah pumbhir dvija-sreshta varnasrama-vibhagasah /
svanusthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-tosanam” That according to the varnas and
ashrams, we all have a particular duty which is necessary. Within society sannyasis
bramhacharis, grihastas and vanaprasta are required. The society cannot function without the
four varnas and ashrams. But the goal of all these duties is to please Krishna. It is not the
question of one varna or one ashram being higher than the other but rather it is a question of
the quality of consciousness in which we perform our particular duties.
403
Sincerely seek shelter of the holy name
We must be sincere. We must endeavor and strive and pray for this sincerity. To become the
servant of the servant of the servant. To realise that we are insignificant and fallen before God
and that it is our only hope to take shelter of His devotees and the holy name. In our japa, in our
kirtan, to sincerely seek shelter of the holy name. These are the main duties for a Vaisnava. It is
explained in the Bhagavatam "atah pumbhir dvija-sreshta varnasrama-vibhagasah /
svanusthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-tosanam” That according to the varnas and
ashrams, we all have a particular duty which is necessary. Within society sannyasis
bramhacharis, grihastas and vanaprasta are required. The society cannot function without the
four varnas and ashrams. But the goal of all these duties is to please Krishna. It is not the
question of one varna or one ashram being higher than the other but rather it is a question of
the quality of consciousness in which we perform our particular duties.
404
Our concern is the substance of a person's consciousness
In Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's leela there was a brahmin of the name Gopala Chapala and he
was so proud of his being a Brahmin. He was so angry when he was not being respected, he
was not allowed into the kirtan at the house of Srivas, that he offended Srivas Thakur. And the
result of his so called brahminism and the pride that was born of it, he fell down to a terrible,
painful condition of a leper, completely outcast from the whole of society, because he offended
the Vaisnavas. And then we have the example of the washerman of Srivas, who had no caste at
all. He was just a simple washerman, but because he honored and respected Srivas and he
appreciated the devotees chanting the holy name, he was given Prema Bhakti, pure love of God.
Ramananda Ray, one of the most intimate associates of the Lord, he was considered by the
society to be a sudra. But the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, accepted him as His
spiritual master and learnt the highest science of the love of the gopis of Vrindavan from
Ramananda Ray. And Haridas Thakur was an untouchable by caste. But Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu installed him in the position of Namacharya, the acharya of the yuga dharma,
forever, not only for one time. So we should know that in Vaisnava society, our concern is the
substance of a person's consciousness, not so much the external particular form of duties that
one is performing. In Mahaprabhu's leela, Sivananda Sen, Srivas Thakur, Advaita Acarya,
Nityananda prabhu, they were in the ashram of grihasta. And there was also Svaroop
Damodar, Rupa Goswami, Raghunath Das Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, they were sannyasis.
But can we say one was better than another? Svaroop Damodar, a sannyasi, Ramananda Ray, a
grihasta, but Lord Caitanya treated them equally because of their sincere devotion. So the
405
whole Varnashram system is based on the principle of developing a quality of consciousness
according to the particular duty that is expected of us in society. And in this way there is
harmony, there is love amongst all varnas and all ashrams.
Our aspiration: trnad api sunicena
What is envy? Envy means, "I want to be seen as important and great and if anyone is a threat
to my own egoistic idea, then there is negativity towards that person, perhaps in my thoughts,
in my words, in my actions." But if devotees put as their goal, as their aspiration; humility, then
there is no question of envy. Therefore the cardinal principle of Sri Caitanya's teachings is this
verse from the Siksastaka:
"trnad api sunicena taror iva sahisnuna amanina manadena kirtaniya sada harih"
This is our aspiration. We cannot enter into the higher realms of consciousness, until we
develop this as our consciousness, of striving as the goal of our life, to be more humble than a
blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, to be ready to offer all respect to others, to expect no
respect for oneself and in this way with a clean and sincere heart, to chant the name of Krishna
constantly. This is our aspiration. Not to be a sannyasi, not to be a leader, not to be famous, not
to be married in a wealthy family, not to be a president or a GBC or a sankirtan leader. These
are all services, necessary services, which we should accept simply to assist our Guru's
mission. But it is not our aspiration. Our aspiration is to be more humble than a blade of grass,
more tolerant than a tree, to offer all respect to others and expect none in return and in this way
to chant the name of the Lord constantly. And whatever our service may be, we should humbly
execute our service, with this goal as our ambition in life. And if all of us, whether we are
pujaris or cooks or whether we are sankirtan devotees or whether we are grihastas living
406
outside having gainfully employed services to society and coming and chanting and making
our families Krishna conscious, whatever our function may be, if we all unite under this
aspiration of trnad api sunicena, there will be no envy. There will be sincere unity and then
great progress can be made individually and collectively. And all sincere and innocent people
of the world will be attracted to the atmosphere, where devotees are humbly coming together to
chant the holy names of Krishna.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
It is our great service to the Vaisnavas, by our example, by our words, to encourage and
enthuse devotees in this direction.
Tendency to lord over someone
People in this world are very, very fond of serving their mind and senses and they are even
more fond of having other people serving their mind and senses thinking I am the master and
thus becoming intoxicated by this misconception on every stratum of life. Even the beggars in
the street have their hierarchies of who is serving, who of who has control, who has what
prestige? Even amongst the insects there is this type of false ego and of the birds of the beast
and of the fish; in every specie of life ahankar prevails ‘I am the controller, I am the master’.
When the shark swims in the sea, he eats whoever he wants and even when he is not hungry
when he swims by; the little fish he sees them running with fear thinking ‘Ah! yes I am the
shark but then the little fish always find the littler fish to Lord it over and the littler fish finds
the littlest fish to Lord it over and the littlest fish finds some plant or some baby fish to Lord it
over but everyone lords over something or someone to Lord over because that is our tendency.
But our eternal nature is to not to Lord over anyone but to find complete bliss and being totally
surrendered to the will of Krishna and working in total harmony in the mood of being the
servant of everyone else for the pleasure of Krishna, that is Vaikuntha.
407
Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Srila Prabhupada is explaining here that there are many philosophers who write comments in
the Bhagavad Gita but who have no faith in Krishna, they will never be liberated from the
bondage of fruitive actions, but an ordinary man with firm faith in the eternal injunctions of the
Lord, even though unable to execute such orders becomes liberated from the bondage of the
law of karma. Krishna is non-different from His words. What Krishna is speaking and what the
acaryas are giving us through His words is the truth, the absolute truth. Only if we just had
faith in that. Srila Prabhupada would sometimes say, "If you just have faith that Krishna is non-
different than His name, you will attain perfection in due course of time undoubtedly." There
are certain philosophers, Guru Maharaj is explaining here, who may be very very deeply
learned and tremendously austere in their lifestyles, they may even have great mystic powers
but they do not have faith that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that simply
by surrendering to Him and chanting His names, we will achieve all perfection. Therefore such
souls can never attain the lotus feet of Krishna, but an ordinary man, an ordinary woman,
behaving like any ordinary person in society, if by the association of devotees, they have this
faith, they will be liberated in due course.
408
Let us aspire to be the humble servant of the servant of the servant
We only take seriously this one quality. We are not concerned with great, big, big learning of
sastras, because there are so many people like that who have no faith in Krishna or in His name
or the mercy of the Vaisnavas. We are not so serious or we do not take so seriously the
performance of immense austerities or tapasya. But we take very seriously and we bow our
heads with all respect, wherever we see anyone, whether they are a learned pandit or a simple
housewife, if they have faith that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, if they have
faith in the mercy of the Vaisnavas, they have faith in the holy name of Krishna, to those people,
we offer all veneration, because those people are sure to achieve the ultimate goal in due course
of time. So let us aspire with great confidence to be the humble servant of the servant of the
servant of the Lord.
409
Our concern is the substance of a person's consciousness
In Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's leela there was a brahmin of the name Gopala Chapala and he
was so proud of his being a Brahmin. He was so angry when he was not being respected, he
was not allowed into the kirtan at the house of Srivas, that he offended Srivas Thakur. And the
result of his so called brahminism and the pride that was born of it, he fell down to a terrible,
painful condition of a leper, completely outcast from the whole of society, because he offended
the Vaisnavas. And then we have the example of the washerman of Srivas, who had no caste at
all. He was just a simple washerman, but because he honored and respected Srivas and he
appreciated the devotees chanting the holy name, he was given Prema Bhakti, pure love of God.
Ramananda Ray, one of the most intimate associates of the Lord, he was considered by the
society to be a sudra. But the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, accepted him as His
spiritual master and learnt the highest science of the love of the gopis of Vrindavan from
Ramananda Ray. And Haridas Thakur was an untouchable by caste. But Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu installed him in the position of Namacharya, the acharya of the yuga dharma,
forever, not only for one time. So we should know that in Vaisnava society, our concern is the
substance of a person's consciousness, not so much the external particular form of duties that
one is performing. In Mahaprabhu's leela, Sivananda Sen, Srivas Thakur, Advaita Acarya,
Nityananda prabhu, they were in the ashram of grihasta. And there was also Svaroop
Damodar, Rupa Goswami, Raghunath Das Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, they were sannyasis.
But can we say one was better than another? Svaroop Damodar, a sannyasi, Ramananda Ray, a
grihasta, but Lord Caitanya treated them equally because of their sincere devotion. So the
410
whole Varnashram system is based on the principle of developing a quality of consciousness
according to the particular duty that is expected of us in society. And in this way there is
harmony, there is love amongst all varnas and all ashrams.
A human being is meant for something more
It is religion that distinguishes human society from the animal society. The lower species are
toiling and working in so many ways for basically 4 principles of eating, sleeping, mating and
defending and through this there with be survival as well as enjoyment. Srimad Bhagvatam
explains nayam deho deha bhajam nrloke That now you have achieved this very rare and precious
form of human life, there are 8,400,000 species of life and the soul is transmigrating from one
species to another millions and millions of years and when the soul finally comes to this human
life, it is in the most fortunate condition because in this human form of life, the opportunity to
experience directly the eternal pleasure of our own spiritual (being) is available & in no other
species of life. The lower species do not have the capacity to inquire into spiritual subject
matters. Who am I? Where am I coming from? What takes place at the time of death? Why is
there suffering? And how to come out of the suffering of this world? The lower species are
trying to solve the problems of suffering by making so many arrangements, by building
themselves some nice nests or some nice home, by finding food, by defending themselves with
whatever facilities they have and so forth. But a human being is meant for something more. To
understand, ‘what is the purpose of my existence within this world?” and therefore the ‘Brahma
Sutra’ begins, athato brahma jigyasa . Now that you have come to this valuable and rare human
existence, inquire into the nature of the Supreme Lord- the absolute truth. And the next sloka of
the Brahma Sutra explains the nature of the absolute truth, janma-adi asya yatah that the absolute
truth is Him from whom everything emanates.
411
Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
The cause of all causes is the absolute truth. There are many speculations, many theories, many
ideas but if we want to understand the truth we must hear from the truth itself. Truth is not
revealed by our own relative conceptualizations. What is real truth is revealed by God Himself.
dharamam tu sakshat bhagvat pranitam The scriptures explain that truth emanates from God
and that is why we have scriptures in every part of the world. We find revealed scriptures
whether it is the Vedas, the Koran, the Bible; there are many shastras in so many different
religions and they all essentially explain the same idea that God is the cause of everything and
we are all part and parcel of that God and we are all meant to serve that God and love that
God. And Bhagavat Gita explains it in the most scientific and authoritative form of reasoning
mamaivamso jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah that all beings in all species of life are
qualitatively of the same nature; we are all fragmental particles of the supreme truth. Just as
there are many sunrays emanating from the sun, there are many jivatmas emanating from this
one Supreme Paramatma that is Krishna. Krishna explains in Gita vedais ca sarvair aham eva
vedyo that “I am the compiler of all Vedic knowledge and by all the Vedas I am to be known”.
412
Life is just an accumulation of moments
As parts and parcels of Krishna, we are all spiritual by nature; we are all eternal, full of bliss &
full of knowledge but we temporarily residing in various bodies from time to time sometimes
as insects sometimes as fish sometimes as plants or animals and birds. And now we have
achieved this human life, we should not waste this. Not only should we not waste this life but
(also) we should not waste one moment of life. Because what is life but a accumulation of
moments and what every moment is given to us now is all we have to live for. The tendency is
to procrastinate; the tendency is to think let me solve the real problems of life, and surrender to
God another time but now I have too much urgent business to deal with. To realize the
spiritual nature of my own self is the only solution to all the problems in our life and in the
entire world. In all the problems we find, on social level, on religious level, on personal level, it
is all due to the forgetfulness of our natural harmonious existence with God.
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Peace is inherent within us
Krishna explains in Bhagavat Gita bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram. We are

all anxious for peace but Krishna reveals to us how to achieve peace? What is peace? And if we
ignore what He speaks; all of our arrangements are doomed to failure. Peace is inherent within
you and me; it is our nature. Unless we find it in ourselves, we cannot give it to someone else.
A poor man cannot give money to anyone in need. If you want to be charitable and give money,
you have to make money, you have to have it. Unless you have peace, you cannot give peace.
And now today in all nations of the world, there is the united nations, and so many various
projects where they are talking about world peace but show me a single one, these gentlemen,
who have found peace within themselves. Most of them are not even following the principles of
morality. What is immorality? Why do people drink? Why do people go with other women?
Why do people gamble? Why do people take intoxication? Why do people eat the dead corpses
of other innocent animals after slaughtering them? It is because simply they are disturbed,
unsatisfied and agitated within.
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What is this teaching of Bhagavad Gita
This Krishna Consciousness movement is the process, the scientific process based on the
wisdom of the most ancient scriptures; the Vedas, based on the realizations of the greatest
sages and acharyas throughout history who have confirmed elaborated and exemplified the
truths of the Vedas. This is the process, which is meant to purify our minds and our hearts
and awaken our own spiritual nature. And when that spiritual nature is awakened within our
hearts then, as Krishna instructs Arjuna, you utilize that love and that spiritual realization to be
expressed through your particular occupation in life. Bhagavad Gita does not tell Arjuna to give
up his duties, but it also does not tell him to do his duties in a state of ignorance. Some people
say Bhagavat Gita teaches do your duty; if you do your duty and you do not harm anyone then
you are living by the highest Dharma. But on physical platform Krishna was telling Arjuna to
hurt everyone. So what is this teaching of Bhagavad Gita? And if Krishna wanted to tell Arjuna
that doing your duty is all in all then Bhagavat Gita would have one sloka not 700. He would
have said just do your duty. The whole Bhagavat Gita is in which Consciousness, that deeply
realized truth in Consciousness, that is completely in harmony with God, (and) in a
Consciousness that is surrendered to God. When we surrender to Krishna then the light of our
soul is meant to manifest through our occupation, through our words, through all of our duties
to give light to the world and that is primary duty of every human being.
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Serving together to glorify the great mission
Srila Prabhupada explained that the Varnashram system is like the different limbs of the body.
No one limb thinks itself better than another limb. When we are engaged in devotional service
all our limbs are so busy serving Krishna together, we forget the differences. They are not
important. Similarly in Vaisnava society, when everyone is working together for the mission of
the spiritual master, the mission of Guru and Gauranga, then it is not very important whether
we are brahmins, ksatriyas, vaisyas, sudras; whether we are sannyasis, grihastas, bramhacharis
or vanaprastas. We are all limbs serving together to glorify the great mission of Srila
Prabhupada and Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu. And then there is love and trust, because there is
sincerity.
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Integrate pure spiritual principles in every aspect of your life
The world in such a situation today that it cannot wait; we cannot put it off. We are getting
older and older with each moment and death could come at any second. Death is the final
exam of life. How have we realized the truth? How have we experienced external peace? How
have we spread this glory to the world? That is the question and the only question we will ask
ourselves during the time of our death. So Krishna tells Arjuna in Gita to give up lethargy and
giving up lethargy doesn’t mean simply giving up material laziness of not getting to work on
time or not going to school on time; that’s bad, but not taking care of your spiritual needs every
day is much worse. That is the greatest and most condemned form of lethargy. To not have
time to purify our hearts and do something glorious for this world that is in so much darkness
and suffering. People are mixed, they want to keep their religious life on the shelf and maybe,
for a few minutes in the morning, and a few minutes in the evening, they will take it off the
shelf. Maybe on Sunday also for a few minutes, then they put it on the shelf and they close the
shelf and then they have so many other duties, responsibilities and obligations. That is called
maya or illusion. That is not religion; that is not Bhagvad Gita. Bhagavat Gita is teaching how to
take these high and pure spiritual principles and integrate in every aspect of your life.
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You cannot give happiness to another unless you are happy
Srila Prabhupada, our guru Maharaj, used to say until the leaders of our society live by the
highest principle of spiritual and material morality, there is no question of them giving peace to
others. They have nothing to give, they are agitated and all they can do is to agitate and
somehow or the other we find it somewhat true. I think most of you will agree that throughout
the world the politicians are agitating the society. They are not bringing peace in the society
they are bringing disturbance into society, Why? Because unless you have something, you
cannot give it. And a father and mother cannot give peace and truth to their children unless
they find it within themselves. You cannot give happiness to another unless you are happy. So
the purpose of this human form of life is first to understand that blissful existence within
yourself as part of God. The soul is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. But when the
spark is separated from the fire, the spark looses its illumination but when the spark is within
the fire it is full of illumination. Similarly when the sunrays are behind the cloud, they loose
their illumination but when they are again connected to the sun they illuminate. So because our
souls have forgotten its source Krishna, the source of all life, the source of all bliss, the source of
all peace, therefore we have forgotten our own inner most nature, which is the greatest need for
ourselves in society.
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Until we realize it, it is good to hear again and again
There should be not a moment of your life where you are not integrating the spiritual purity of
your religion and Bhagavat Gita. It is not that we should have our worldly life and our spiritual
life and try to keep them separate. Because actually nothing is separate from God. And if we
think they are separate, that is our misfortune. That is our ignorance. So now is the time. ayur
harati vai pumsam - the Srimad Bhagvatam explains with every rising and setting of the sun,
we are one day closer to death. But for a person who is devoted to God, with every rising and
setting of the sun, that person is closer to eternal life. In this regard, there is a simple story, some
of you have heard, but it’s nice to hear again and again because until we realize it, it is good to
hear again and again. The story illustrates the nature of a person who was spiritually lazy but
who was materially very very hard working. There was a man, of the name of Kailash and
Kailash was a very very busy responsible father, husband, businessman and he was working
very hard, and his Guru-Maharaj was Narada Muni. Narada Muni came to Kailash and
requested him, “Kailashji, please the whole world is suffering in ignorance, help me spread this
message of Sanatana dharma. Live by these principles and help me give them to others.”
Kailash said, “Yes! Of course, it is the most important thing. I know the scriptures say it. The
rishis say, sages say it, you say it. I know it and I will do it. But not now. Because I have to raise
my children. My children are young, they are not yet married, I have to get them married first. I
have to give my full attention and I have to build up the business in such a way that they have
something by which they could be proud of me for.” Narada Muni said, “Yes you can do all
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these things, but at the same time, you can utilize all for nice service. You can help me. You can
purify your life. You can chant the names of Krishna.” He said, “I know, I know. But just give
me a few years and then I will do it.” So a few years later Narada Muni came back. He said,
“Kailash, you come help me.” Kailash said, “Well.” Narada Muni said, “Your children are all
married.” He said, “I know they are but they are not doing things properly. I have to train them
how to properly care for their wives and I have to train them how to work in the business, and I
have to train them how to take care of the house. Let me just have a few more years. Then I will
take to Krishna Consciousness and help.” So a few years later, Narada Muni came back. Now
the children were very grown, they were very mature. Now Kailash had grandchildren. “They
don’t know to raise their children properly, I have to help them. After some time.” So the next
time Narada Muni came, he didn’t see Kailash. He asked his sons, “Where is your father?” “He
died.” Narada Muni felt very bad, another human life wasted. To waste million dollars, to lose
countries is not very great. But the scriptures say, for one human being to die, without realizing
God, that is the greatest loss. Because a human being has all opportunity, (&) to not use it, is the
greatest loss in all of existence. So Narada Muni was walking away and he saw a dog. The dog
was trying to communicate with Narada. So Narada, by his mystic power gave the dog the
power to talk. The dog said, “I am Kailash, because I was so attached to this house, this
property and this family, now I am a dog.” So Narada Muni said, “Come with me now, chant
the name of Krishna, live a pure life. Come and help me to save the world.” Kailash said that,
“They are not; they are not taking care of the house properly. I have to guard them, I have to
make sure that they are safe until they really learn to do things right. Then I will come with you.
Just give me another year.” So Narada Muni came back next year. He asked, “Where is that
dog?” “That dog died.” So Narada Muni was walking across the lawn and there was this snake.
And the snake looked up and said, “(I am) Kailash” Narada Muni said, “Now come with me,
we will have a glorious life in Krishna’s service. The snake said, “I can’t leave yet. Look what
they are doing, all I have worked so hard for so many years. I have to make sure they are
utilizing it properly. I have to make sure they are properly situated.” So Narada Muni felt
extremely merciful that day and he went to Kailash’s children, whom he dedicated his whole
life in trying to protect and facilitate, and told the children, “There is a very deadly snake in
your yard. I think you should do something about it.” So all Kailash’s children took the sticks
and started beating their father to death. The snake called out to Narada, “I will come, I will
come. I am ready.” And then Narada took him and taught him the process by which he could
live his life for perfection. So we should not be like this. We have so many economic needs. We
have so many social needs. We have so many family needs. And no doubt that it is the
responsibility according to God’s laws that these needs are properly served, but we have one
need that takes precedence over all others; the responsibility of being a human being.
Durlabha manava janama lobhaya samsare- by Krishna’s definition the first and great
responsibility of every human being is never to take birth again in this world. Puruna says-
Bhagavad Gita says, that the first duty of every parent is not give them food or shelter, because
the animals are doing that, that is a responsibility but it is not of prominence. The first
responsibility is to give them, by your example and by your teaching, the facility so that they
never again take birth in this world, but they realize the eternal peaceful spiritual nature of
Krishna.
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Money has never bought anyone real happiness
This spiritual need must be very very attentively taken care of and if anything and anyone in
this world diverts our attention from that, we should understand that that is the greatest loss.
That is the greatest misfortune. In the Bible, Lord Jesus Christ said, “What is the use if you gain
the whole world, but you lose your eternal soul.” And it is reality. Money has never bought
anyone real happiness. Big big families have never given anyone real happiness. It is spiritual
realization that gives one, (the) real happiness. It is serving others, by giving them access to a
closer relationship to God that actually gives us real happiness on the spiritual level. Because
we are not this body and we are not this mind, we are the soul. We are so busy polishing and
shining and putting so much nice fluids into our motorcar. If we forget to take care of the
driver, then we have lost the purpose. The motorcar is meant to serve the interests of the driver.
It is not that the driver is meant to serve the interest of the motorcar. This body is a motorcar
and that’s all. It is a temporary vehicle and to make so many arrangements, the soul is living
just to make the body comfortable! It is a complete mistake; we are supposed to keep the body
in the condition required so it would serve the purpose of the soul. But have we forgotten who
is the soul? What is the soul? What is life? Then that is the greatest tragedy and that
forgetfulness is the cause of all the problems in our life and in the life of the whole planet earth.
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Everything around is trying to distract our attention from the truth
Krishna says, bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram - everything is the property of God.

aham dvija pradapita- we are all the sons of God. God’s property He shares it with us to utilize
the whole world with all of its abundance and all of its glory. God gives it to us. Krishna says, it
is Mine, but as My children use it. He tells us, how to use it. Use it for the ultimate benefit; use it
for the ultimate benefit of others. Use it in the service of God. Then there is real peace, real
unity, real happiness, and that is what we are looking for. But material energy, in this age of
Kaliyuga, everything around is trying to distract our attention from the truth. Everyone is
trying to keep our attention fixed on an illusion, on a mistake and therefore it is said, in this
wonderful verse that we are reading tonight, how absolutely important it is to keep the
company of persons who are striving for truth that is called sadhu. ‘Satsang’’. Satsang means to
come together for sat, for truth.
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Association is the basis, the foundation of our spiritual lives
While associating with materialistic people too much attached to for the pleasures of the body
and the mind; the doors to hellish (planet) and ignorance are opened. But by associating with
those persons who are sincerely and humbly trying to understand the highest purpose of life,
(in) that association the doors to truth, to light, to eternal bliss are then opened. And meetings
like tonight are so very important; they are the most crucial need in society today. People come
together to enlighten one another mac-citta mad-gata-prana bodhayantah parasparam Krishna
explains in the Bhagavat Gita ‘My devotees come together and they enlighten one another with
topics about Me.’ And we also give each other strength to actually pursue on the path of light
even when there is darkness all around. Association with devotees, with spiritual people is so
very important. Association with devotees is the basis, the foundation of our spiritual lives
because it becomes natural to be Krishna Conscious or God Consciousness (in the association of
devotees).
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See everyone as a part of God
What is the path of perfection given in Bhagavat Gita? Krishna explains what is the truth? We
are all the eternal soul; we are not this body, we are all part of God. We are all meant to serve
God, to love God. We are all meant to see every living being equally with compassion and
merciful state vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane gavi hastini suni caiva sva-pake ca panditah sama-
darsinah. The eternal soul is beyond caste; it is beyond nationality; it is beyond what particular
religion you are following; it is beyond what color your skin is; it is beyond whether you are
rich or poor; or young or old; whether you are an intellect or an illiterate; the soul is beyond all
these things. These are all temporary designations. Whatever you criticize someone for being
today you may be that tomorrow and that is the fact; if you criticize someone because they are a
lower caste the reaction is you will be of a lower caste and someone will criticize you so what is
the use? You don’t know these things; you are ignorant. A rich man condemns a poor man
because he is useless; the reaction! he has to become a poor man and be condemned. So what is
the use? The men are saying the women are all useless; so they become women and some man
will call them useless. So if any woman has complaints you should know that it may be reaction
and if any man complains he should know what his next birth will be! If we understand these
principles; we will all be respectful to every one. We will see everyone as a part of God and
worship and respect every living entity and try to serve them and help because it is our best
interest & to their best interest and it is pleasing to Krishna. This is the truth.
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What you associate with, you become
It is very much required that we understand what is the truth and how to achieve it - Krishna
gives a very simple formulae in Gita, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru
“Always think of Me, offer your homage unto Me, in this way you will come to Me without fail,
because you are My friend. suhrdam sarva-bhutanam. Krishna is the friend of all living beings.
He has given us all this promise, to always think of Krishna. Krishna means the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the source of ‘Brahman.’ ‘Param Brahma’ is Krishna. Brahman is the
all-pervading impersonal light, but Krishna is the ‘Param Brahman.’ param brahma param
dhama pavitram paramam bhavan. He is the source of everything. As the sun is the source of
all the light throughout existence; so Krishna is the source of all spiritual energies. And Krishna
is all pure; by remembering Krishna we become purified. As we said, ‘What you associate with
you become.’ If you associate with darkness you become dark; if you associate with light, you
become light. If you touch an iron rod that has been put in fire, the iron rod’s association with
fire, you will be burnt. The iron rod takes the quality of fire. If you put an iron rod in ice, it takes
the quality of ice and you touch it and you will be frozen. The law of nature is, ‘With what you
associate you become.’ God is all pure, God is all merciful. If we associate with God we
become pure and merciful.

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A universal compassionate principle
Association with devotees is the basis, the foundation of our spiritual lives because it becomes
natural to be Krishna Conscious or God Consciousness. In the association of devotees it’s out of
place to engage in sinful activity; amongst devotees it’s out of place to stand there in a bored
state when everyone is dancing and singing the holy names; it's out of place to be talking of
gossip when everyone else is listening to the message of Bhagavat Gita. So we require this
association; it's most crucial and to bring more and more people into this association is not a
sectarian idea (but) it is a universal compassionate principle, which is very much needed. In
the association of devotees we learn the path of perfection and we have the support
companionship by which we can have the strength to follow it. That is all-important. It is all in
all in our lives.
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People act humble just to serve their false ego
Is there a greater need in society than pure and merciful people? Can you imagine everyone in
this world was pure, pure motives, pure love and full of mercy? This world would be
Vaikuntha. But unfortunately it is Kuntha, it is a place of anxiety because there is very little
mercy and when somebody is a little merciful, it is usual that they are merciful to their own
false ego. You give in charity so you become famous. You do something good because then
your name is put on a banner he has done and everyone goes “Oh he is merciful and we say
“Yes”, “No” actually I am not but inside you are thinking “Ah everyone knows; not only do
they think I am merciful but because I said I am not merciful they also know I am humble”.
People act humble just to serve their false ego, but Krishna says that if we always think of
Him we become completely purified. And how to always think of Krishna Lord Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu came to teach us this sublime process. nama chintamani Krsna Chaitanya ras
vigraha. That Krishna has descended within the sound of His pastimes, with the sound of the
words He has spoken. By hearing Bhagavad Gita; we are associating directly with Krishna. If
we submissively hear Bhagavat Gita from the proper source in a submissive spirit like that of
Arjuna, that actually and factually we are sitting on that chariot and Krishna is speaking to us.
When we hear the beautiful pastimes of Lord Krishna, His Kurukshetra Lila, Dwarka lila, His
lila as Lord Ramchandra in Ayodhya (&) Rameshwaram. So many wonderful pastimes Lord
has performed; as Lord Nrsinghadev, as Lord Varaha dev, as Lord Narayan, Lord Rama. When
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associate with these pastimes and we hear them from a proper source with people who actually
have devotion and surrender; we are actually associating with Krishna directly through sound
vibration.
The pure and perfect way of receiving the knowledge
It is very important to read these (Srila Prabhupada’s) books, to come and hear the truth from
sadhus; not sadhus who preach the truth with an expectation of money; if you a professional
you cannot give the truth (but) evam param parapraptam. The truth comes in a spirit of
compassion from someone who is simply delivering the message as he has heard it from his
guru; who has heard it from his guru; and this is called Parampara. This is the pure and perfect
way of receiving the knowledge and the combination of all knowledge kalikale name rupa
Krishna avatar -That in the age of kaliyuga, which is an ocean of faults kalerdosa niderajan
This age of Kali is ocean of faults but there is one benediction that in this age Krishna has
incarnated within the sound of His name and simply by sincerely chanting the holy names
under the direction of those sincere representatives or spiritual masters the Lord has sent, we
can achieve the perfection of liberation which is pure unalloyed prema (love).
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One mantra that includes all other names of God
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Who descends according to the scriptures Srimad
Bhagvatam, Mahabharat, Upanishads, Who spoke the Gita Who appeared in Treta Yuga as
Ram; Who appeared in Sata Yuga as Varaha dev Narhasin dev. He appears in His original as
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with a beautiful golden complexion and comes to teach the
Yugadharma. Yugadharma is the means of perfection that is practical and applicable to
everyone in this age. krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam sangopangastra-parsadam yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi su-medhasah Those in this age of Kali who have real intelligence; they will accept the
mercy of the great golden avatar by practicing the yuga dharma which is the congregational of
chanting of Krishna’s holy names. namanama karibahudha nijasarvashakti --Krishna says all the
various names of God are invested with the power of God. But Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
although He accepted all names of God; He extracted from the Vedas one mantra which He
considered to be the most all inclusive; includes all other names of God. And it was very
happily chanted and it is the Mahamantra Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare
Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. It is a practical means by which we can
always remember Krishna by keeping in contact with His Name.
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Put the first thing first
Nice association, living a pure moral life, living a charitable life, keeping our hearts always
cleaner and pure with the chanting of God’s holy names is a simple and wonderful formula by
which we can achieve perfection; by which the love and the light of our soul can give relief and
hope to this world. And this is our foremost duty as human beings to do everything possible
we can for the benefit of humanity, our families and our selves. While we are here not to waist
moments, not to be lazy, not to put the first thing last but to put the first thing first and keep
everything in connection in harmony with that and then when the time of death comes we
will be satisfied that we have achieved perfection and we have done real service to this world.
Hare Krishna.
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Lord’s mercy is infinite and inconceivable and causeless
One day Sri Narada Muni who is the great devotee of the Lord took compassion upon him
(Valmiki), it was causeless mercy, and he (valmiki) had no pious credits to deserve credit of Sri
Narada Muni but Krsna is all merciful, Lord Ramachandra, His mercy is infinite and
inconceivable and causeless. The only qualification required is simply to recognise that we are
fallen; in that state of mind; to become humble and to receive the mercy of Sri Rama. So when
Narada Muni approached Valmiki; just the sight of that great and pure hearted soul began to
transform the wicked heart of Valmiki and when he heard the ambrosial and sweet and
nectarean words of Narada who did not condemn him for his sins but rather encouraged him to
become perfect; he realised something that he didn’t really understood before what a terrible
situation he had put his life in. He was truly the most fallen of all fallen souls. This was his
conclusion. And Narada Muni instructed him that you can purify your heart, you can become
perfect, you can become a great saint, a true sadhu if you simply meditate on the beautiful Holy
Name of Lord Rama because all the glorious qualities of Rama are within the divine sound of
His Name.
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What is our service?
Of course this (Sri Narada muni instructing Valmiki to chant the Holy Name) took place in
Treta-Yuga. Now we know from the sastras that in the age of Treta yuga; the recommended
process of purification is the performance of sacrifice. Harinam sankirtan is especially
recommended in Kali yuga but you see people were so qualified (&) they were so highly
evolved in their consciousness in Treta yuga that most people simply would not take very
seriously such a simple process as vibrating the tongue and hearing with their ears the name of
God. They wanted a challenge, they wanted something that they really had to make sacrifices to
achieve and therefore the recommended process was massive, massive sacrifices which are
impossible to even imagine and the magnitude in this age but the fact is, eternally in all ages
the chanting of the Holy Name is the perfect process of divine purification. But you see
Valmiki was so fallen, he was so sinful, he was so spiritually disqualified, there was no question
of him performing great yagyas so therefore Narada Muni simply told him you chant the name
of Rama… that’s all. You just do that and you will become perfect. And this is very instructive
because in this age of Kali yuga we are all more or less like Valmiki Muni and therefore, in this
age of Kali, the Lord has so mercifully descended in His Holy Name and Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; that same Lord Rama and Krsnap; has descended simply to distribute the Holy
Name and to this day those divine disciplic representatives of Narada Muni are doing the same
thing, you see Narada Muni is not sitting in a bhajan or just chanting the name of Lord Rama
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Himself; he was travelling looking for the most fallen souls. He was simply travelling here there
and everywhere distributing the glories of the Holy Name out of compassion for all living
beings. And similarly in this great Brahma Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya we are the children
of Narada Muni spiritually. He is travelling here and there glorying the beautiful name of
Radhika Raman for the purification of all beings. So this is our service; we are a preaching
movement, our movement is not to discriminate who is qualified who is disqualified but to
give everyone the chance to receive the causeless mercy of Sri Rama by distributing the Holy
Name.
How much are we giving and how much we are holding back?
The Vraja vasis had their natural attachment to Lord Krsna completely (and) had taken shelter
of the Lord at this time of great distress. As it is said by Lord Sri Krsna in Bhagavad Gita that to
the proportion a person surrenders to Me to that same degree I will reveal Myself and give
protection to such a devotee. Because the Vraja vasis abandoned all idea that they had any
independence existed outside of the grace of Krsna; therefore Krsna’s full mercy was upon
them. To the degree we hold back both internally and externally; to that degree Krsna will also
hold back. Sometimes it is said that Krsna does not see how much you give but He sees how
much you are holding back. After all if a wealthy man gives a thousand rupees that is some
pious activity, it is nice, but if a person who only has a hundred rupees to his name, gives a 100
rupees; that is total surrender. Krsna does not discriminate between the intelligent and the
unintelligent; between the educated and the uneducated, He does not discriminate between the
rich and the poor, between the talented and the untalented, Krsna simply reciprocates with our
love whoever we are, whatever we are and in this way there is no qualification or
disqualification materially. The question that Krsna asks when we come before His throne is;
how much are you giving for My pleasure in My service and how much are you keeping back
for yourself. This is what ultimately Krsna will ask you in this life and at the time of death how
much have you surrender to Me and how much have you kept for yourself?
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What it means to go to Vrindavana?
The residents of Vrindavana their wonderful qualification is that they kept nothing for
themselves, whatever they had whoever they were; was simply for Krsna. You know the
wonderful story of when the gopis who were approached and they were told that Krsna is
suffering from a very terrible headache and He is requesting the dust of your lotus feet to apply
to His head, but you should know that if you place the dust of your feet on His head you will
go to hell forever. What was the gopis consciousness? To immediately collect that dust and send
a special delivery to Krsna as soon as possible. The gopis’ consciousness was simply for Krsna,
in fact the gopis consciousness was like this: if Krsna’s headache is destined to last for one
minute, if this the duration of the headache He had one minute, if my giving the dust from my
feet to put on His head, if it relieves His headache and shorts His duration by 30 seconds to give
Krsna that pleasure for 30 seconds, I am willing to go to hell for the rest of eternity. This is the
love of the gopis. It is not that, oh Krsna will eternally suffer a headache and I will eternally go
to hell if I can relieve it, no. Even if Krsna’s headache is for 2 seconds and if I can even relieve it
for even 1 second I am willing to go to hell for the rest of eternity. That is the nature of the love
of the Vraja vasis for Krsna, the selflessness, utterly unmotivated, utterly uninterrupted. If the
gopis were living in hell throughout eternity they will be in bliss, knowing the 1 second less
Krsna had a headache and this is all I have to pay for; it is the eternality of hell; such a
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wonderful opportunity He gave me to serve here. This is the nature of the love of the gopis.
This is what Vrindavana means. To go to Vrindavana doesn’t mean simply to put on a torn
cloth and beg for rotis and chant the holy name of God, this is not what it means to go to
Vrindavana. What it means to go to Vrindavana is to enter into the mood of Vraja vasis of
total surrender, to the pleasure and the will of Krsna because this what makes our chanting
something wonderful to the ears of God.
Surrendering our will to the will of Krsna
To go to Vrindavana doesn’t mean simply to put on a torn cloth and beg for rotis and chant the
holy name of God, this is not what it means to go to Vrindavana. What it means to go to
Vrindavana is to enter into the mood of Vraja vasis of total surrender, to the pleasure and the
will of Krsna because this what makes our chanting something wonderful to the ears of God.
The real spirit of Vrindavana is; wherever we are, surrendering our will to the will of Krsna,
which is manifesting in this world through the will of the spiritual master. The guru is as good
as God because the guru is giving us the word of God, the spiritual master is teaching us the
real and true process of entering into the eternal realm of Vrindavana, he is not just giving us
the cheap external instructions, you go and take a train; you get of at this junction; you go and
beg for some rotis; you chant this many names a day and that is Vrindavana. Anyone can tell
you to do that but to train you systematically how to relinquish every separate interest.
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Thinking only of Krsna and Krsna’s service
In Vrindavana; the elder gopis and gopas, they had their own children but they all loved Krsna
more than their own children. In fact, their whole goal of life for raising their children is just so
that they could be good friends with Krsna and render nice service to Krsna. Today when we
raise our children we are thinking oh my child, what would be best for my child and what else
would be nice for my child, but the residence of Vrindavana had their children; they never
think like that, they think how can I raise my child in a such a way that they could give pleasure
to Krsna; that they can have nice playful games with Krsna; that they can give satisfaction to
Krsna, that they can love and be loved by Krsna, not for my child’s sake but for Krsna’s sake,
because I know if Krsna is pleased by my child; there is nothing to be worried about, he will be
in the highest state of loving pleasure, so this is the way all the parents were thinking, thinking
only of Krsna and Krsna’s service.
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Vrindavana is in the heart of devotee
The gopis, for the pleasure of Krsna, they were willing to eternally leave Vrindavana and to go
to Narakaloka. Because they were willing to do that they were actually in Vrindavana. Vraja
bhumi is an eternal realm which is not in a particular place but it is in the heart of the devotee
and the place is revealed according to that heart of that devotee. So here we find, because the
residents of Vrindavana were cent per cent sold out for the pleasure of Krsna, Krsna was cent
per cent sold out to them. The Lord says because My devotee does not know no one except Me,
I know no one but My devotee because My devotee is giving up everything for my pleasure, I
give up everything for My devotee’s pleasure. How wonderful it is to see. We are told by Rupa
Goswami to follow in the footsteps of the residents of Vrindavana, some classes of men think oh
then I will just meditate on being a gopi, or I will just meditate on being a cowherd boy, or I will
just meditate on being a peacock or I will just meditate on being a Vraja monkey or I will just
meditate on being a lotus flower on the river yamuna or I will just meditate on being Mother
Yasoda. In this, people have this idea of this is what Rupa Goswami means by following on the
footsteps of the residence of Vrindavana. Of course in a very high level of consciousness yes
you enter into this mood of being the assistant of such a selected divine personality of Goloka,
but in the beginning we have to qualify ourselves to follow on the footsteps of the residence
of Vrindavana; means; first before imitating a gopi or gopa, first develop the basic
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qualification that they have which is total selfless unreserved surrender at the feet of Krsna
with no other interest except Krsna consciousness, Krsna service, this is what we mean in the
initial stages by following the footsteps of the residence of Vrindavana, that we know nothing
except Krsna as our shelter and our object of love, we have no attachments to anything or
anyone except Krsna.
Simply turn to Krsna
Therefore when they were in danger, naturally the Vraja vasis, they knew no one but Krsna to
turn to. But this is also a wonderful understanding that even that heartfelt direction to take
shelter of Krsna, when they are in danger, can only take place by the mercy of Krsna because
the residence of Vrindavana were so much attached to the service and the loving pleasure of the
Lord; therefore when danger came the Paramatma within their heart awakened, by His mercy,
this exclusive desire for them to only turn to Krsna, they did not start looking for umbrellas,
they did not start going here and there and everywhere else trying to make any separate
arrangement; they had complete faith, complete trust that if we simply turn to Krsna there is
nothing else required. Do you have that faith? The fact that we do not; is the problem of our life;
the fact that we do not have this implicit faith is the reason why we still suffer.
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Pray to Krsna for the benefit of others
Here we find the Vrajavasis, they, are completely taking shelter of Krsna and they are taking
shelter of Krsna in such a wonderful way. They did not say Krsna save me. The residents of
Vrindavana, the gopas and gopis said, Oh Krsna please save Your cows because we know that
You love Your cows and because You love Your cows so much; so we love Your cows so much,
these rains would cause them too much distress; please save these wonderful beautiful cows of
Yours. And besides that You are also known as bhakta vatsal so You can also protect us as You
like but please Your cows we know that, You want to protect Your cows. So they came before
Krsna not simply for their own protection but for the protection of those Krsna loved. This is a
very profound understanding that if we really want to approach Krsna for His pleasure, we
must not ask Krsna for my sake but a higher principle is to pray to Krsna for the benefit of
another and for those He loves. Therefore among vaishnavas it is the principle to always be
praying to Krsna to help another devotee to become Krsna conscious; to always be
endeavouring and making sacrifices to bring another devotee closer to Krsna; to never put
ourselves first before anyone because if we do our endeavour will not be pleasing to Krsna.

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How to become dear to Guru and Krsna?
We read in the Caitanya Charitamrita when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was discussing His love
and affection towards Sanatana Goswami to all the other devotees. He was explaining as if He
had five mouths; of the virtues of Srila Sanatana Goswami, He didn’t say anything about
anyone else there, they were all listening. If they were envious people, if they were people who
desired recognition from their Guru and Lord, they would have thought why is He saying so
many wonderful things about Sanatana Goswami; doesn’t He recognise all the things that I
have done or who I am? These devotees were in the topmost ecstatic joy to hear Sri Lord
Caitanya giving His mercy to Sanatana. The perfection of their life was simply to see another
devotee getting the Lord’s mercy. Sometimes we find in spiritual society, people compete to try
to get the recognition from their Guru and Krsna. Srila Prabhupada used the example that if
two sons are massaging the two sides of the father’s body and they both want the father to
think that I am the better son than my brother, that he should love me more than my brother, he
should give me more recognition than my brother so therefore I massage as well as I could from
my side, but I will pinch and stab him and punch him on my brother’s side and when both
brothers are thinking like this, the poor father is in pain. But in Krsna consciousness let me
massage my side the best I possibly can and let my father know that I am not even here, let my
father think that it is my brother doing everything, let him not even know that I am here, let all
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credit go to him. A father is all knowing, Krsna is all knowing when He sees that this is our
consciousness then we truly become dear to Him; when the spiritual master sees that this is our
consciousness in the inner most recessive heart, it is in that place where we become so dear to
Him.
Giving the greatest pleasure to Krsna
The Vraja vasis knew that the greatest pleasure we can give to Krsna is; by showing Him how
much we love His cows. In fact the gopis also said like this there is no one more dear in all of
Vrindavana to Krsna than the Goverdhan Hill. Why? Because Goverdhan Hill is supplying
grass to the cows and everyone know how the cows are dear to Krsna. Because Goverdhan Hill
is not seeking to offer anything directly to Krsna because Goverdhan, Giriraj is supplying nice
grasses to the cows, therefore the gopis understand that Giriraj is the most dearest to Krsna
because he is serving the devotees. So the residents of Vrindavana was not doing this as a
show; they were doing because they knew by showing Krsna how much we loved the cows;
this would give the greatest pleasure to Krsna, by showing the spiritual master how much we
want to serve and love and elevate and encourage devotees this is what will give the greatest
pleasure to my Gurudev; this is the consciousness of Vrindavana; because of this more
wonderful approach of selfless desire for the pleasure of Krsna. When the residents of
Vrindavana took shelter of Krsna in this spirit, Krsna, as we hear from His own words from this
verse, He said therefore I must protect the cowherd community by My transcendental potency
for I am their shelter I am their master and indeed they are My own family after all I have taken
a vow to protect My devotees.
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Do not fear
What else do we have to know this life; Krsna has taken a vow to protect His devotees. What
other consideration do we need; to serve and accept to become Krsna’s devotee sarva-dharmān
parityajya mām ekam saranaḿ vraja ahami tvaḿ sarva-pāpebhyo moksayisyami ma sucaḥ therefore in
the end of this sublime sloka in the Bhagavad Gita, Krsna says do not fear. This world is a place
of fear; people are so much motivated by fear at practically every moment of life. We work so
hard because we are afraid of lack of food, we have fear of lack of shelter, we are fearful of not
having sense gratification and maintenance, we are afraid if our family members are not being
affluent, we are afraid of our respectability in society, practically everything that we do is based
on fear in this material world whether we are conscious of it or not. But Krsna says if you just be
My devotee and surrender to Me; do not fear. Why not fear, because I have made a vow to
protect My devotees. All you have to do is be My devotee; don’t worry about anything else. Do
we have that faith? To develop that faith is the goal of life.
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Krsna protects those devotees who have truly taken shelter at His lotus feet
Lord Krsna protects devotees in the most wonderful, wonderful way, which is glorified by all
pious beings for all eternity how Krsna protects those devotees who have truly taken shelter at
His lotus feet. We have to pray: My dear Lord Krsna, if it is Your desire, kindly relieve the
spiritual master form this condition. We cannot demand from Krsna, when Srila Prabhupada
was in a critical condition and in several occasions during his wonderful lilä, as the world
preacher of Krsna consciousness, for our sake not for his sake, he would instruct every temple
to offer this prayer to Lord Krsna: “My dear Lord Krsna”, Prabhupada said you cannot ask Him
save me, you must ask Him, “if it be Your desire please save my spiritual master from this
condition”. That is how we should pray to Krsna and it should be in a consciousness that I am a
neophyte devotee. And the whole world is full of conditioned souls. How desperately do we
need the shelter of his (Prabhupada’s) lotus feet, how desperately we require his divine
guidance and his causeless mercy and not only that, but for our sake, he is accepting so much
tribulation and so much suffering and it is unbearable for us to see this, therefore Krsna, please
take my life, let me be in utter surrender show You how much I would like if it is Your desire
that You allow my Gurudev to be glorified and to have all opulence of all of his desires to be
fulfilled and that he may be free from all these sufferings.
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The degree and the willingness to make sacrifices & surrender
Krsna fulfils sincere desires of His devotees. Vasudeva Dutt prayed to Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu that let me suffer in hell eternally and take all conditions souls back to Godhead.
And Lord Caitanya said Krsna cannot refrain from fulfilling the desire of His devotees. But
Krsna tests your desire by the degree and the willingness to make sacrifices (&) surrender.
Because he was willing to make such a sacrifice and surrender so much; that meant his desire
was so strong so pure that Lord Caitanya said because of your desire I will send everyone in
this universe back to Godhead and you don’t have to go to hell even for one second. But he was
willing to. Yes. If you want to do some austerity for the benefit of another; Krsna will certainly
help that other but our prayer will have potency to the degree we are pure and we are
surrendered and we are willing to make sacrifice. That is the sign of our love. So Hanuman
did great things. We may be not so pure, we may not be so elevated and surrendered but we
should be striving like a little squirrel and certainly whatever prayers we offer for the benefit of
others Krsna will hear and He will help and He will certainly fulfil our desires, especially if it a
desire of devotional service and the greatest form of devotional service is help encourage
another person to be Krsna conscious.
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If we are really sincere it will be revealed by Krsna
Anything done in a holy place has a special quality; it is intensified no doubt, but at the same
time we should know that wherever we are giving; our life; in the service of Guru and Krsna
that becomes a holy place also. Srila Prabhupada, he would pray for the welfare of his disciples.
It is not that he went to Vrindavana every time he wanted to pray because the fact is that his
heart was Vrindavana. Wherever he was praying it was Vrindavana, wherever a devotee is
surrendering to Krsna that devotee’s heart becomes holy dhama. How do we measure in what
extent are we going because very often devotees, which I have seen, they don’t know how far
they have gone, Guru maharaj is there to chastise us and make a strong push for us but they are
not always here. It is the question of our sincerity. If we are really sincere it will be revealed
by Krsna. Again we should analyse in our own life how much are we offering to Krsna; how
much are we holding back? If we are sincere and honest, it will be quite obvious to us. If we are
not sincere and honest then it would a very confusing subject whether we are a brahmachari or
a sannyasi or a grhasta or a vanaprastha, whether are a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra; the
same principle is there what is ours to give to Krsna? Our time, our intelligence, our words, our
wealth, our abilities, our health of all these things how much of it is really and truly being
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directed, it may be being direct or indirect but how much is it either directly or indirectly truly
going to the mission of Guru and Krsna, towards Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan movement and
how much of it are we keeping it to the side for other purposes.
Never going to step backward
Brahmacharis also, they could keep so many things maybe not wealth, but they could keep
certain things for themselves on the side by being lazy by not willing to do what is asked. In so
many ways, at every moment, we have a choice so we simply have to analyse both; each part of
our existence and we must analyse our purview of our entire existence and how much of our
life which includes everything is directly or indirectly being utilised in the service of Caitanya
Mahaprabhu’s movement and how many of it are we trying to keep apart from that and if we
are sincere and honest, that we do want to surrender, then it would be very obvious and if we
see that “my god! that I am really keeping a lot back!” That should actually make us humble
to think, ‘oh god I am not a really good devotee at all, I thought I was, but when it really
comes to the philosophy; I am not such a good devotee, how can I improve, how can I
gradually improve and offer more and more to Krsna?’ It is difficult and often very much
unadvisable to just try to surrender everything immediately because can you maintain that
platform throughout your life? But we should be at least gradually more and more giving our
life to Krsna; never going to step backward; (but) constantly going forward and we should also
not see how much we have given? If we see how much we have given we become proud; it will
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spoil the offering. We should see how much we are holding back. This is the humble
consciousness.
I deserve worse
If you really think that you are not an exalted personality, you will think that I deserved it.
Ambrisha Maharaj was a great devotee. Durvasa Muni created a monster to kill him, Ambrisha
said, “Krsna if You think I deserve to die then the best thing is he kills me, no problem”. Krsna
thought this was terribly offensive and He sent the Sudarsan Chakra and to chase after Durvasa
Muni for one full year and after that full year; Ambrisha Maharaj did not eat for a year because
until Durvasa Muni took his prasad he couldn’t eat because he still considered him as a guest.
So when Durvasa Muni came and fell at the feet of Ambrisha Maharaj, Ambrisha Maharaj said I
forgive you for your offence, he said I am such a sinful rascal that I deserved whatever you did;
so you didn’t offend me at all; this whole reaction is some lila between you and Krsna, it is
nothing to do with me; I deserved it….. It is only when you think in a position you don’t
deserve to suffer; that you take offence by other devotee. But if you think that I need so much
purification and I deserve so much suffering for my purification; that if anybody treats me
terribly, its just Krsna’s mercy coming through that person; that person should be awarded for
giving me so much of a chance to purify my ego; that’s the way we should think but Krsna may
not think like that; that’s His business. But if you are expecting something high; then you are
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offended when you get something low but if you are expecting something low then how can
anyone offend you?
The price of Krishna consciousness
Sridhar swami in his commentary, he explains that the word sattvena, which means the mode
of goodness, in practical application means that we must be patient. This is one of the most
essential items of devotional service. Patience.
Rupa Goswami says that we must be enthusiastic with patience and confidence. Patience is a
symptom of surrender. Without patience, our surrender is hollow and incomplete. We must
execute Krishna conscious principles with great great enthusiasm. But we are not fruitive
workers. We are not doing business with Krishna. When Lord Nrsimhadeva offered Prahlad
maharaj benedictions, he could have chosen to go back to Godhead or anything.
But he said, my Lord, I am not here to do business with you. I am not a fruitive worker that I
have performed my service and remained faithful with the expectation that you’ll give me
something. I have done it for your satisfaction. The one thing a devotee wants is a pure heart.
narayana-parah sarve
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na kutascana bibhyati
svargapavarga-narakesv
api tulyartha-darsinah
(SB 6.17.28)
For the devotees of Lord Narayan, whether they are in heaven, hell or in mukti, it makes no
difference. Their only concern is to serve. So we want a pure heart. Because purer the heart, the
more pleasing our service will be. Whether Krishna wants to send us to heaven or hell to
Goloka or Vaikuntha, wherever He wants me to please Him, I’ll be there. But just give me a
pure heart, so I just have that motive, that sincerity of purpose.
But after years of hearing and chanting, after years of working so hard, after years of giving up
so much of what is precious to ordinary beings - our health, our youth, still the ego is there. The
lust, the anger, the envy the pride, the illusions are there. Why? I’ve tried once, I’ve tried twice?
How many times have I dressed Radha Gopinath? How many times I’ve completed my 16
rounds? How many times have I bowed down and said Vancha Kalpa tarubhyas ca to the
Vaisnavas, How many books have I distributed? How many risks have I taken? How many
people have I brought to Krishna Consciousness? How many times have I become sick, invalid,
and gone on with my service? But still my heart is not pure.
Patience means Krishna, “I am going to be always examining and re-examining the quality of
my service and the intentions of my service. Because if I am not pure, perhaps I am not doing it
right. Perhaps there is some flaw. Perhaps I am making offenses”. So we can’t just be patient. If
you’re making aparadhs, if you’re negligent of certain vaisnava principles, you could be patient
for millions of births.
So we always have to be scrutinizingly examining and re-examining what is the quality of my

sadhana, my bhajana, my seva, my relationship with Vaisnavas, and what is the inner content
of my heart when I am performing it. Am I doing it for pratistha? For recognition? Or am I
doing it to please Krishna, to please Guru, to please Vaisnavas. And while carefully practicing
this way, if it takes our whole life, if it takes hundreds of millions of births, it doesn’t matter,
because I know, when it is pleasing to Krishna, He will deliver me. I am His servant.
na dhanam na janam na sundarim

kavitam va jagad-isa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi
[Cc. Antya 20.29, Siksastaka 4]
“O Almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor to enjoy beautiful women. Nor
do I want any number of followers. What I want only is the causeless mercy of Your devotional
service in my life, birth after birth.”
I do not want money, I do not want women, I do not want followers, disciples. I don’t even
want liberation. I only want to serve you birth after birth after birth unconditionally.
Unconditional service means patience. Whenever Krishna desires, He will deliver me. It is His
promise:
man-mana bhava mad-bhakto

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mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me
(BG 18.65)
Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, and offer homage unto Me and in this
way you’ll come to Me without fail.
Srila Prabhupada explains the essence of patience. “Patience is necessary for developing the
confidence that Krsna will certainly accept me because I am engaging in devotional service. One
has only to execute service according to the rules and regulations to insure success.”
We worship the Deities as Krishna Himself. We honor every living entity as part of Krishna. We
worship and respect every Vaisnava with maturity. And we carry on this way, chanting the
holy name, hearing the glories of the Lord, serving His devotees, with patience and faith. Never
to give up. If ever we give up, that means, we are not worthy of Bhakti. If our intention is clear,
I’ll go on as long as you want Krishna and when you want to purify my heart, that’s Your
business, I’ll never give up. It is that consciousness, that is the price of Krishna consciousness.
Make progressive and steady steps forward towards pure devotional service
If the devotee thinks I have given this much, he becomes proud then offering becomes tasteless
to Krsna but however much we give, we shouldn’t think about that. We should think how
much I still have left and not given; then we become humble; thinking see what a rascal I am,
I have given 10 crores of rupees but I still have another five left so that what type of devotee I
am? I have kept five, in that way the ten is given; is offered with so much humility pleasing to
Krsna; there is no proud. Or if a brahmachari goes out and preaches to thousand people; he
thinks oh I am so good, I have preached to thousand people but that brahmachari; no he won’t
think like that; he will think oh I have just spent ten minutes contemplating on sense
gratification, what a rascal I am? I could have given that time to help others become Krsna
conscious. In this way we shouldn’t be proud what we give to Krsna, we should be humbled on
how much we are still holding back and if that’s the direction of our consciousness then we will
really make wonderful spiritual advancement and by that process it will be very, very easy to
come to a nice calculation of how I can improve my devotional service? Because for most of our
cases, we have to improve gradually, continuously improve. Do not try to be a pure devotee in
one day, just make progressive and steady steps forward towards pure devotional service;
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every minute and everyday; try to improve everyday and simply by that effort Krsna and
Gurudev will be so pleased with us that their mercy would showered upon us at every
moment.
Is this what you are giving your life for?
Srila Prabhupada explains that this body that we love and care for so much, we should know
that its ultimate destination is to become either stool or dust or ashes depending on the
particular process our culture deals with dead corpses. Prabhupada explains that in some
societies they bring the dead body to a rooftop or to a mountaintop where they allow birds to
eat it. Vultures, hawks, eagles and these meat-eating birds they just rip your body to shreds
with their beaks and they eat it. The vultures tear your whole body open and they start from the
inside with all the blood and all the organs and they just eat it and drink it from the inside out
and they start sucking and licking on your bone, they have nice feast and then they digest it and
then they pass stool and what are you, you become the stool of the vulture abdominal. And
some people just bury the bodies in the ground six feet down and then the worms and the
maggots they start to eat that body and time decays it and in time it becomes rotten and
gradually it turns into dust, from dust you come from dust you return. And other civilisations
like in India the custom is to burn the body. So that means that this body that you are caring for
with such attention, with such care, this body that you are willing you are willing to insult,
cheat, even kill your own loved ones to protect. Kamsa just to maintain his body he was willing
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to kill his own sister Devaki by slicing her head with a sword. What people do just to protect
this body, not knowing that the soul is actually the real person that is enjoying and suffering. If
you commit sinful activities, the soul has to be transported to the most miserable possible
positions but to maintain this body, we are willing to degrade the soul and subject to so much
suffering when ultimately what is the final result of the this body? That we live for in a few
short years, it becomes nothing more then a handful of ashes, it is put into a burning pyre and
the flames consume it and sometimes people take a little handful of ashes and put it into some
container, usually some people just come with a broom and sweeps into a river, that’s you.
That’s what you have given your life so carefully. Women; how much they stand before the
mirror putting on cosmetics smiling at themselves to see how they look, combing their hairs,
putting on all sorts of perfumes, decorating with jewellery, fine luxurious clothings and they see
in the mirror, “oh I am so beautiful, I am so wonderful, who will not be attracted to me?”. But in
a few short years you become nothing but a drab pile of ashes and some of you may have seen
what happens to the body during the burning process.
When I first came to India in 1970, I really wanted to understand what is this Vedic culture and
what is the truth underlying this world, what is life, what is death? So I was thinking, in order
to understand what is life you have to understand what death is. So I would sit at a funeral pyre
in Varanasi and just sit for long periods of time just watching what happens to the body as it is
burning meditating on death. This is before I met Srila Prabhupada. I can see the difference
between various yoga processes and Lord Caitanya’s movement. Now we are meditating on the
beautiful form of Radha Gopinath and dancing and chanting. In those days my sadhana was to
sit and watch burning bodies and I can’t tell you how stage by stage so many bodies go through
the same transformation, people are crying, weeping, they come with the funeral session the
manner looking down, the women are sobbing and sobbing and sobbing, then they put it on the
fire, then they do some rituals, they start the body in fire and then everybody goes away and
the body is left burning and just myself and one or two sadhus are just sitting meditating what
is this death.
And the beautiful hair that you are so nicely combing everyday and spending so much money
on perfumed oils; immediately starts burning and within seconds its finished. And then the
flesh that your loved one is embracing, oh you are so soft, you are so smooth, you are so tender
and you are buying nice oils and nice perfumes and other lubricants to keep your body soft and
fresh, that flesh all of sudden starts burning, it appears like it is melting, it starts melting, it start
dissolving in the heat of the fire and then all of a sudden you start seeing the skull and the
bones just emerging from the dissolving flesh, then all of a sudden an eye ball comes out;
sometimes falls to the ground due to the pressure. And then all of a sudden you see the skeleton
of the arm just falls to the ground and the bones of the leg falls to the ground, sometimes there
are all kinds of sounds coming from the skull because of the pressure and then gradually even
the bones begin to disintegrate in the fire and the heat and until all is left is just ashes and a few
chunks of bones and some other parts of the body but it is all disassemble and they keep the fire
going and going and going for a long time and pretty soon all is left is; the fire goes down and
there just the ashes. And sometimes somebody stays around to collect some of the ashes but
usually the whole family practically leaves and least this is what I was seeing and somebody
just comes with a broom and sweeps it all in the Ganges. And then we use to sit downstream a
few feet away and we would see the ashes in the Ganges just merging into the river just going
down the stream and a few feet later there is a bathing place, and people take their bath, and
when they take their bath all the ashes go on their bodies.
This is what you are giving your life for, how long do you think your body is going to last
before it becomes stool, dust or ashes and when people see the body burning they all realise it is
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just a few years till this is the destiny of that body that I call mine and I am giving my life to
enjoy. It really doesn’t make much difference; once your body becomes ashes no one would
recognise whether you were a king or whether you were a peasant or a sweeper of the street, no
one could discriminate between vulture’s stool, the dust or the ashes of a great conqueror or an
insignificant peasant. There is really no difference.
The life of a pet animal
Mucukunda Maharaj here is declaring that this bodily conception of life is such an illusion.
And he was such a great king and he knew, kings know what other kings really are; you see;
the general people, we, have a very very glamorous idea of what a King is because we don’t
know the inside story, but a king knows the inside story of other kings; because they all live
essentially the same way. And herein he is explaining that having conquered the entire circle of
direction and being thus free from conflict; such a king sits on a splendid throne receiving
praise from leaders who were once his equals, but when he enters into the women’s chambers,
where sex pleasure is found; he is led about like a pet animal. You know what a pet animal is?
A pet animal is; they do whatever you just tell them. They are completely dependant on you.
Because you give the pet animal food, the pet animal would do anything for you. That’s how
you train pet animals by letting them know that you are the one that feeds them. Because you
are feeding them they are obliged to you and they know if they don’t do whatever you say, you
are not going to feed them. That’s how you train an animal; through the process of food and
punishment, punishment means you don’t give them food. In America they trains dogs, horses,
very common!! You tell the dog sit, the dog sits because the dog knows if I don’t sit I won’t get
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any food, lay down the dog lays down because the dog knows that this master is feeding me
and I need food, I cannot live without food. Bark because it knows I must this is the hand that
feeds me. There is a saying don’t bite the hand that feeds you. This is the way dogs are trained
and in this way because you are giving the reward in the form of food, your dog is just a pet
animal; he will do anything for you. You say come and he comes, you say go and then he goes;
he becomes a watchdog anyone that comes he will protect you.
King Mucukunda is explaining that even the greatest leaders and conquerors and kings and the
most men in the world when they come into the women’s chamber they are like a pet animal.
Why? Just as a dog is so anxious for food, because such a king cannot control his senses, he is
dependent on sex pleasure to survive, he is so eager and anxious due to lust for sexual
enjoyment; and his queen, she is the one who feeds him sex pleasure. Just like we feed the dog
to give him pleasure, the queen feeds the king with the food of sex pleasure, for which he is so
anxious to receive. Although he is sitting on the throne and everybody thinks he is so
wonderful; in order to sit on that throne he has to go through so much anxiety and so much
turmoil and so much battle and conflict; to rule the state that he seeks shelter, he seeks relief
from all of his anxieties through the sexual pleasures with his queen. And because the queen
knows that actually he is dependent on me, if I don’t give him these pleasures then he will
starve sexually. And although the queen may be very expert and appear like a very submissive
servant always faithful to him, always following behind him in the rear with her head covered
looking like anything you tell me I’ll do, in her heart she knows he is under my control, he is
my pet animal. This doesn’t only refer to kings either!!! (laughter) So in this way he is like an
animal led about here and there.
Without the association of devotees; there is no hope
Maharaj Mucukunda is explaining what an embarrassing situation this is, one is thinking he is
independent and supreme but because he cannot conquer his senses and his mind, he is
actually a slave, he is actually a pet animal and when a material life of a wondering soul is
ceased, Mucukunda says, at that time he may attain the association of Your devotees. This is a
wonderful explanation given by Srila Jive Goswami and Visvanatha Cakurvati Thakura because
Srimad Bhagavatam is a perfect scripture that is absolute and perfect in every respect and
Sukadeva Goswami here is explaining that when one’s material life of such a wondering soul
has ceased then he may attain the association of Your devotee, My Lord. But we know from our
own example that without the association of devotees there is no hope of ever ceasing our
material activities. And the acaryas explain this following point that at first there is a little faith
in your heart, Krsna is within your heart, He sees that you have that faith, He sees that you
have some desire for what is sublime and Krsna by His causeless mercy directs you to the
association of His devotees; that is the first stage on the path of bhakti. The first stage is when
Krsna directs you due to that little faith to the satsanga of devotees and it is in the association of
the devotees that you begin to re-evaluate your whole life; when you hear from them you
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understand that I am in illusion that I am really not this body that I am meant for Krsna’s
service and then you begin to engage in the process of devotional service; then you accept a
spiritual master in that association of devotees and then you begin the process of hearing and
chanting and following of the regulative principles strictly. This is called devotional service
under strict rules and regulations and gradually through this process of hearing and chanting
and following principles strictly, gradually all of the unwanted desires of the heart are cleansed
and then there is firm faith; there is higher taste then attachment to Krsna, the attachment to the
service for Krsna and then gradually bhava, love and prema; pure unmotivated love.
You should be willing to trade everything off for the association of the devotees
It’s through the association of devotees that we can become free from material life in a bodily
conception. But why it is said here that after material life ceases one attains the association of
devotees? Just to give emphasis and stress that association of devotees is so powerful that you
can consider as soon as you come into that association your material life is as good as finished.
It’s absolute; its definite; its 100%. Your material life will cease if you simply remain within
that association of devotees. Mucukunda; such a highly liberated and realised soul; he is giving
us the following information through his own realisation and experience that there is not much
value in material wealth. He had it all; there is not much value in power and control and
influence over the others and great amount of prestige because he had it all. There is not much
value in being recognised and glorified and praise and appreciation by others because he had it
all, there is not much value in the wonderful pleasures of the sexual affairs with the most
beautiful faithful and chaste queens because he had all that; there is not much pleasure in
conquering all directions because he did it; what else is there in life, what is it that he didn’t
have, he had everything; so full that any materialistic person ever wants but after going through
all that he said it is all useless. What is really a true value; the association of devotees.
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Mucukunda is saying that’s all that is the only thing you have; that is what is the only value you
should be willing to trade everything off for the association of the devotees; of that’s what is
required.
The result of associating with Krsna’s devotees
Because through the association of devotees we can become freed from bondage the infliction
and the infection of material attachment which ultimately leads us to stool, dust, or ashes.
Through the association of the devotees we can realise and experience that we are not destined
to be stool, dust or ashes; we are destined to be the eternal loving servants of Sri Sri Radha
Gopinatha in their most splendid and illustrious abode of Goloka Vrindavana and in Goloka
Vrindavana there is no stool, dust or ashes because no bodies die there, no body gets eaten by
vultures, no body gets buried in the ground. You never see the pictures of cemeteries in Goloka
Vrindavana. In Goloka Vrindavana you see swans, beautiful singing birds of life, not birds of
death because in Goloka Vrindavana we take on a body that is qualitatively one with Krsna’s
saccidananda vigrahah. We have body of a Gopa, or Gopi depending if we are in santa rasa or
dasya rasa, sakhya rasa and madhurya rasa in this sweet land of Vraja bhumi. Or even in the
beautiful illustrious abode of Vaikuntha everyone has a body that radiates spiritual light that is
not subject to birth, old age, disease or death (but) is divine, transcendental and eternal but the
glory of our eternal existence is not that we have such a body but that; (the) body is always
immersed in the ecstatic association of Radha and Krsna; that it is always immersed in the
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ocean of ecstasy, that exchange of ecstasy between Krsna and His devotees continues to
increase for all eternity. This is the result of associating with Krsna’s devotees and what is the
result of everything we do in this world outside of associating with devotees: Stool, dust or
ashes. That is our choice.
Krsna awakens within the heart in the association of devotees
How valuable; how precious is the opportunity to sit with the devotees to hear Srimad
Bhagavatam, to dance with the devotees while chanting the holy names; to bathe in the dust
from the feet of the devotees, through the process serving them with humility prideless &
devotion!! Yes. Everything we are striving to attain in this world; Mucukunda; he strived for it,
he attained it; let’s take his word for it; his conclusion was: everything is an illusion; everything
is worthless except the opportunity to associate with Krsna’s devotees. Because within that
association, he says, devotion unto Krsna awakens within the heart because Krsna is the goal of
the devotees and in that company Krsna becomes our goal of life and all these other goals fall to
the side. Caitanya Mahaprabhu when He was asked how to become a pure devotee; He replied,
you want to become a devotee of Krsna; this is the process: always associate with vaisnavas and
always avoid the association of those who are too materially inclined and those who are not
devotees and then the straight and the pure path back to godhead; it is very simple and in that
association always remember Krsna by chanting His holy names.

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Engage your mind and the senses in Krsna’s service
Because it is our conditioning, because we are habituated for sense gratification since time
immemorial; we have not been trained with discipline for so many births, we have been trained
to enjoy the senses and the nature of this material world is (that) the three modes of material
nature are always directing our senses towards sense gratification. It is material nature to want
to enjoy sense gratification and because we are materially influenced, it becomes our nature to
become enjoyers. In this way, the soul is in a condition of forgetfulness but as through the
process of devotional service which begins with vaidi bhakti which means you have to forcibly
restrain the senses and forcibly and strictly engaged your mind and the senses in Krsna’s
service; through the process you are reconditioning yourself, you rehabituate yourself and
gradually your original spiritual qualities begin to awaken; at which time it is the nature to
simply serve Krsna and love Krsna. It is our original nature. But in order to bring this original
nature to the forefront of our life you require sadhana bhakti we require purification.
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Keep coming to the atmosphere of enlightenment
Yes most people in a funeral, they are just like this (every time he attends a funeral of anyone a
realisation comes to him that he should renown everything but when he comes back he forgets)
but because they don’t have association of devotees, they forget. Just like when you are in
Srimad Bhagavatam class, sometimes you get enlightenment but when you leave you forget,
you get caught up in your worldly affairs. Similar. Therefore we need to regularly associate
with devotees. If that person went to a funeral everyday, he probably becomes Krsna conscious
but because he only goes now and then he forgets. We need regular association of devotees, we
need to be regularly enlightened because the nature of the world is that we get enlightened and
then modes of nature put the enlightenment in the background. Therefore we must associate
with devotees regularly. We must chant Hare Krsna maha mantra japa everyday. We must
hear Srimad Bhagavatam everyday. It is essential; because your tendency and my tendency is
the same; as that man’s tendency in that atmosphere; we are enlightened then we forget. If we
are sincere we have to keep coming into the atmosphere of enlightenment.

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Become purified
In the spiritual world, everyone is of this nature (we are meant to serve the Supreme Lord in
every aspect of our life) and in the spiritual sky there are no material motivations, but the living
entity comes into this material manifestation because of this polluted corrupted aspiration in
life (to have impure desires). And God who has many names and many religions, He creates
this universe simply to help give an opportunity for us to purify that desire and return to our
eternal natural position of His loving servants. Therefore the first words spoken to the first
living entity in this existence to establish the real purpose of this existence of this universe was
Krsna telling Brahma purify yourself; tapa. Tapa means tapyasa, tapyasa means to accept
whatever is required to purify out hearts. We can follow so many religious traditions but if we
are not becoming purified of the false ego and the mental and sensual desires within us then it
is all a waste of time, whatever spiritual practices we perform if we are not becoming purified
of lust, kama, the desire then it is all a waste of time.
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Give up the propensity to enjoy the things of this world
Sukadeva Goswami describes how Brahma, he very, very carefully performed all this tapyasa
and thus doing so Krsna reveals the Vedas to him and Brahma scrutinizingly studied the Vedas.
And what is his capacity to understand; he has the capacity to create all the species of life
8,400,000 in number, he has the capacity to create different planets and all this manifestations.
He is the most brilliant being and he scrutinizingly studied the Vedic knowledge that the Lord
gave him and through his spiritual realisation, he came to the conclusion that attractions of
Krsna is the Supreme perfection of religion and of life and that is what every human being
should make as a goal. We should not make our goal anything in this world because it a place
where there is danger at every step, our goal should be to become attracted to Krsna. And those
who aspire to be attracted to Krsna, they have to give up their propensity to enjoy the things of
this world. And such persons have become the greatest threats to the materialistic civilisations,
because the materialist civilisation is based on the point of cheaters and cheated, (and)
exploitation. And how does maya exploit us? by making us attracted to the objects of the senses.
If you are attracted to the objects of the senses you become the slave of material energy, you
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become like a puppet and maya just pulls the strings of various sensual attractions and we
move accordingly.
There is no such thing as new type of sense enjoyment
A person who is self controlled can actually be peaceful and actually find satisfaction in life and
besides that such people, they, do not want to buy those products or indulge in those activities
which are simply meant to steal our consciousness away from Krsna. And materialistic society,
the whole economy is more or less based on that principle producing artificial necessities of life
and various forms of entertainment and enjoyment to somehow or other steal our
consciousness away from the real purpose and completely absorb in frivolous useless
temporary so called pleasure, but the devotees of the Lord they are actually happy.
Just a few days ago we were having Harinam sankirtan in downtown London and there was
about over hundred devotees. Piccadilly Circus, we were going down some many roads of
London and in Piccadilly Circus there was hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people
coming from all over the world to find some sort of enjoyment because it is a place which is
famous. And everyone was just so depressed; they were so bewildered. And the devotees, we
chanting blissfully, it was such a wonderful kirtan! We were just dancing and everyone was
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simply smiling and these people never seen anything like this, they were just looking like what
are they doing, how could people be so happy? These grey glooms streets, dark cloudy skies
and these people are dancing what is this; some were asking what kind of drugs are you
taking? Can you sell me these drugs? (laughs), I have taken all drugs, I have taken all
intoxications, I never seen bliss like this, I will pay any amount, what is it that you are taking?
We told them it is the best intoxication; the chanting of Hare Krsna maha mantra!!! And there
were other people, they were holding onto their boyfriends and girlfriends because they were
out in the town to enjoy and they are not enjoying and they are seeing these devotees and they
are just looking thinking what are we doing? The men on one side and women on the other side
and they are in bliss; how is this possible!!! (laughs) We are embracing each other, we are
squeezing tightly and we are not smiling like this; we are not in bliss; what is it that they are
doing?
And then there was a person on a Rolls Royce; he was the son of one the big sultans of Saudi
Arabia or one of those places. He was on a Rolls Royce and he heard the kirtan as he was
driving by with a driver from a limousine and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing-
hundreds of people just so blissful dancing through the streets, that he jumped out of his Rolls
Royce and told his driver just go around the block until I am ready to come in and he then
started dancing in the kirtan. He started telling devotees I have billions of dollars and I am a
wealthy person with so much land and prestige, my father sent me on a vacation to London and
finally I have been looking all around city for some happiness and I finally found it.
And there is a statue it looks like cupid, or something (like that) he is holding an arrow and has
wings I don’t know who he is but he is very famous he is the centre piece of London and there
was hundreds and hundreds of people standing around this statue which is on the raised
platform and they were all different levels up and they were all looking down on the kirtan.
And I was thinking Krsna is Madan-mohan, here are all the servants of cupid and they are all
being attracted to Krsna’s holy name.
So we just started looking, looking at the difference between those who are struggling so hard
to somehow or other just to get some pleasure by chewing what they have already chewed and
chewed and chewed for so many births and deaths through 8,400,00 species of life; we are
trying to extract enjoyment from our mind and senses, we had it all there is nothing new, there
is no such thing as new type of sense enjoyment, eating, sleeping, mating and defending.
There are so many varieties but it is all the same. These people are struggling; they are working
so hard, they work so hard all day to make money and then they go out to try to somehow or
other spend it in the way that they can enjoy but they are frustrated; some little enjoyment but
so much loneliness, so much anxieties, so much confusion what to speak of all the frustration of
unfulfilled aspirations that they have in life and therefore most of the society takes all kinds of
intoxication just to dull their consciousness so that they are not even aware about what a
miserable condition they are in and this is human existence.
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What is the purpose of religious principles
Srila Haridas Thakura, he, was always preaching the glories of chanting Hare Krsna. He was
preaching that we should chant very loudly and he himself chanted very loudly and sometimes
he would dance and sometimes he would cry. He was a very, very wonderful servant of the
Lord, very compassionate. So one time a very proud caste brahmana, he invited Haridas
Thakura into an assembly of other proud caste brahmanas and they all started accusing him,
making so many charges against him. They said that these mantras from the Vedas, they, are
very sacred and pure and they can only be chanted by brahmanas, born brahmanas, who are
sacred and pure and they must be chanted silently in one’s mind because if they are spoken by
the lips, they loose all their potency. So why are you destroying our Vedic traditions by
chanting so loudly and teaching the masses to chant so loudly? So Haridas Thakura replied by
quoting the sastra, he quoted Srimad Bhagavatam, he quoted Narada Purana where Prahlad
Maharaj explains that chanting loudly the names of Krsna it is 100 times more powerful than
chanting silently and it explains, why, because what is the purpose of our chanting the names of
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god; what is our purpose in offering arti; what is the purpose of performing yajya; what is the
purpose of fasting on ekadashi; what is our purpose in doing the samskaras; what is the
purpose of any religious rite, whether it is the garbhodaka samskara the birth giving ceremony,
the naming ceremony, the wedding ceremony, the death ceremony, the education ceremony; all
of these; they are only for one purpose; it is to please Krsna. If we do not please Krsna then there is
no value for any of these things. We want to please Visnu the Supreme Lord and we are chanting
the holy names and we know that of we please Krsna by doing so, He can purify our heart, it is
not simply by our effort but to the degree we get Krsna’s favour. We follow the regulative
principles of religious life simply because we want to receive the mercy of Krsna; that mercy
can purify us from the attachment and the aversions. So in this way what pleases Krsna most,
what pleases Him is where there is many people as possible become purified and when you
loudly chant the holy names; that beautiful transcendental sound vibration enters into the ears
of all living entities around.
Everyone is potentially a Krsna’s devotee
Haridas Thakura explains all human beings who hear it (the holy name) become delivered and
all the animals and all the insects and all the lizards and all the birds in the sky who happened
to fly by that kirtan and even the grass and the trees and the plants by coming in the contact
with the holy name; they all become cleansed and it is this; in the mood of compassion; that
pleases the Lord more than anything else. We can know one who is compassionate to other
living beings; that person is truly the servant of the Lord. Our beloved Guru Maharaj His
Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada; we pray namo om visnu padaya krsna
prestaya bhutale srimate bhaktivedanta svamin iti namine he is very dear to Lord Krsna, he is
most dear to Lord Krsna not only because he has surrendered his own life to Krsna but because
he has extended to sacrifice his life to show compassion to everyone by awakening in
everyone’s heart the desire to loudly chant the holy names. And Krsna explains in Gita that
there is no one dearer to Me than those who explain this knowledge to my devotees and
everyone is potentially a Krsna’s devotee. So in this way Haridas Thakura explained by
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chanting silently you can purify yourself but by chanting loudly you purify everyone
around. Therefore it is so pleasing to Krsna to have some compassion; that there is hundred
times more power in chanting the Hare Krsna maha mantra very loudly. And besides that it is
easier to concentrate.
Whole purpose of this universe is purification
Lord Brahma is the original founder of all religions because Lord Brahma is original enunciator
of spiritual principles. He took birth directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead at the
beginning of the universe and at that time the Supreme Lord instructed him to perform tapyasa
for purification which is very important to understand that the whole purpose of this universe
is purification, we come to this world of birth and death where there is so much suffering
simply because we have impure desires, we have impure motivations. That impure desire is
that we want to be the enjoyer, we want to claim proprietorship over that which we can
somehow or other obtain and we want to enjoy the prestige of the inclination of the false ego.
Actually the soul, which is part and parcel of God, is pure, purity means no selfish aspirations,
purity means to understand our eternal constitutional nature. We are meant for the enjoyment
of the Supreme Lord, we are meant to serve the Supreme Lord in every aspect of our life;
nothing in our existence should be separate from our loving expression of service to Krsna.
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The dogs will bark but Krsna caravan must carry on
Anyway Haridas Thakura quoted from so many sastras so many evidences (that loud chanting
is better than silent chanting) and after he began to declare so authoritatively his conviction; this
brahmana, he could accept it, (but) if a person who is motivated no matter what you tell them,
they cannot accept. So this brahmana became very angry, he said ‘just see how Kali yuga has
come, I think the end of Kali yuga must have come; now that this person lower than a sudra, an
untouchable, is now interpreting the Vedas and polluting everything’. And then he said to
Haridas Thakura if the loud chanting of the holy name is not as powerful as the silent chanting,
then I will cut of your nose and when Haridas heard this, he understood; he did his service, we
cannot be attached to the fruits of our actions we just do what we can do and Krsna is
satisfied. Haridas Thakura taught us this principle. So he just smiled and he just walked away
and loudly began chanting the holy name. Anyways few days later this brahmana got small pox
and his nose fell off and Haridas Thakura just went on with his service. Srila Prabhupada said
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the dogs will bark but Krsna caravan must carry on. So these things are expected. What we
have to be very careful to observe and understand is that we are pure if we are living purely
following these four regulative principles, no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling and no
meat eating and we are regularly chanting the holy names of the Lord and we are regularly
hearing Srimad Bhagavatam. By developing a taste to the attraction of hearing the Srimad
Bhagavatam, Krsna becomes so pleased; He cleanses all the arnathas, the unwanted things in
our heart. Srila Rupa Goswami explains the basic principles of Krsna consciousness is to daily
hear the Srimad Bhagavatam, to daily chant the name of Krsna according to a regulated vow, to
associate with devotees, to visit holy places the temple of the Lord where the chanting and
dancing of the Lord is going on, it is a place of pilgrimage, these principles are very sacred and
very important and they are all natural in those places where the devotees reside.
The material world: no assurance, no guarantee
Gajendra, he, was a devotee but some how or other he made some mistakes and became an
elephant. And he was enjoying with his family very nice life, he had so many nice elephant
children and elephant wife and they were all just having a wonderful holiday together and then
the crocodile bit his foot. This is material life, at any time crocodile bite your feet; we all have
been bitten so many times by the crocodile of material adversity and this crocodile has a very
strong sharp teeth and once they bite; you cannot get out. In fact everyone is within this
crocodile, in this world at any moment however nice things are we have seen, your success, you
are victorious everything is very good and then someone dies or all of a sudden you loose
everything or some crazy person starts saying bad things and then your life again is in chaos.
There is no security in this world; even the greatest persons are assassinated; they are over
thrown at any minute. That is the material world no assurance, no guarantee.
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Ultimately we have to surrender to Krsna
Gajendra was the representative of everyone in this material world, enjoying very nicely in the
limelight of his life, he was the king of the forest. And then the crocodile biting. And he tried
with all his might to get out, he used all his resources but he could not get out. Ultimately
Gajendra surrendered to Krsna, he offered prayers to Krsna, he chanted the name of Krsna, he
raised his trunk reaching out for the mercy of Krsna offering his life in the form of a lotus
flower. We don’t have trunks, Gajendra, his active service was he raised his trunk as he chanted
the glories of the Lord, as humans we don’t have trunks but we have arms, we raise them chant
the holy names of the Lord. The Supreme Lord came down and sent His Sudarsan Chakra
which always protects His devotees, Sudarsan Chakra is especially to protect devotees and then
the crocodile was finished and on that very day He sent Gajendra back home back to Godhead
in his original spiritual body. So if it wasn’t for the crocodile, Gajendra would have just gone on
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enjoying with his family until he would have died a peaceful death and God knows what he
would have attained after his elephant birth, so the crocodile was actually His servant.
All obstacles are His servants
So Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu after He took sannyas, He was at Advaita Acaryas house and
His mother told Him that He should go to Jaganatha Puri because Krsna is in Jaganatha Puri.
“Vrindavana is very far away, I will never hear any news of you if you are living in
Vrindavana. But Puri; devotees are always going back and forth so please my son reside in
Puri”. So Lord Caitanya who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always anxious to fulfil
the desires of those who love Him with pure devotion, He was even willing to forsake His
own desire to go to Vrindavana to fulfil the desire of that loving servant in the form of His
mother Saci Devi. So after the kirtan and the prasadam for many days Lord Caitanya said now
I will go to Puri dhama and the devotees said my Lord this is not a good time to go because
there are two opposing armies fighting, they are at war and there are many thieves and dacoits
and if anyone is caught, anyone who is trying to travel through these places in Bengal, when
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they are caught by the soldiers, they are imprisoned and then they are tortured then they are
killed. So this is no a good time; you should wait until things become more conducive to your
travel. And when Lord Caitanya heard this He said, “What situation will ever come about
where there are no obstacles before us? When there is ever a time; there are no obstacles on our
path back to Jaganatha; tell the devotees that I will go now”. And Advaita Acarya when he
heard this, he became very happy, he proclaimed that what obstacles can block the path of
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all obstacles are His servants. And it is a fact; all these obstacles in this
material world, whatever they maybe, whoever they come through, they are all servants of the
Lord. And what is the Lord’s mission? It has already been explained the whole purpose of the
Lord creating this world is to have everyone go back home back to Godhead and purify their
hearts. So all the obstacles that come within our path are meant to help us become purified;
they are the servants of the Lord who have come to serve us. If we simply remain true and
faithful to the Lord’s desire then we pass these obstacles.
Obstacles are actually conducive to our spiritual progress
So if we are pure, if we are striving for purity and following these principles; we should know
that Krsna will always protect us and we can expect the agents of kali yuga to somehow or
other to test us, it is natural. In fact Srila Prabhupada said if you are not being attacked by the
materialistic people you must be doing something wrong, because if you are actually
successfully propagating pure life then materialistic people have to attack you, they must. The
Pandavas did nothing wrong but Duryodhana and Kauravas, they made so many lies against
them and tried to discredit them. Krsna told them you just depend on Me but you have to fight,
you have to fight for the truth. So the devotees must struggle to live by the truth and obstacles
would come, but those obstacles are actually conducive to our spiritual progress; they are
actually there to help us to become deeper and more intense in our dedication to Krsna and
Krsna’s mission.
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By Krsna’s grace we will overcome everything
So the devotees, they are not surprised, nor are they discouraged when impediments come but
rather they are simply excited to take shelter of Krsna and overcome, knowing by Krsna’s grace
we will overcome everything. The truth will prevail. If it wasn’t for the impediment of the
cruels, the Bhagavad-Gita would never been spoken; if it wasn’t for the impediment of the
cruels, Arjuna would have never become such a devotee of the Lord. We have to fight for the
truth in compassion and now we must fight against injustice; we must fight against the laziness
and the fear that maya always tries to put within our heart and the doubt.
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Why are you afraid?
Lord Caitanya began His journey to Lord Jaganatha in Puri and so man obstacles came on His
way. At one time they were riding on a boat and it was night and it was a secret excursion
because it was a very dangerous place and Lord Caitanya told His devotee Mukunda, “Loudly
chant the holy names”. And Mukunda began to loudly chant the holy names of the Lord Krsna
and they all began to dance. And the boatman became very afraid, he said “Stop this chanting;
stop, this is very dangerous”, he said, “There are tigers, this is a small river, there are tigers on
the both sides of the river that eat men and in the river there are terrible, terrible man-eating
crocodiles and besides that there are soldiers and dacoits who will kill us in a moment if they
know we are here; so stop this chanting let us silently, secretly make it to the border of Orissa
where we will be safe”. So all the devotees stopped chanting and there was complete silence as
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they began to ply through the waters of the river and then Lord Caitanya very loudly He spoke,
“Why have you stopped the kirtan, why are you afraid; don’t you know where there are My
devotees together chanting My holy names, I protect them by the Sudarsan Chakra. They are
protected by the Chakra of the Lord; nothing can stop them no impediment; go on loudly
chanting the holy names”. And then Mukunda began his kirtan and everyone loudly chanted
the holy names of the Lord.
The battlefield of Kuruksetra is everywhere
So many impediments will come from within; in the form of laziness and doubt and envy and
unwillingness to co-operate, so much false ego; all these comes as an impediments within and
so many impediments without. Social pressures people try to make you feel guilty what to
speak all the attacks of various objects of the senses and temptations of lying propaganda. The
battlefield of Kuruksetra is everywhere but if we remain always with Krsna and always
understand that if we simply live by His words, remain honest and remain sincere and stay
together co-operatively and perform this wonderful sankirtan of this holy name then
(Sudarshan) Chakra of the Lord will always protect us and all obstacles will only bring us near
and dear to Krsna and this is the path of bhakti. We must have this conviction that the highest
perfection of religion and of life is simply to become attracted to Krsna. Krsna conscious life is
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to be orchestrated in such a way that everything we do is meant to make us more attracted to
Krsna.
Become attracted to the All-Attractive
Krsna’s name is all-attractive, Krsna’s pastimes are all-attractive; the beautiful form of the Lord
in the temple is all attractive. Service to the Lord attracts our heart towards Krsna. There are
nine process of devotional service and they are all meant simply to make us more attracted to
Krsna and as we become more attracted to Krsna, naturally we become detached from anything
that is not favourable in serving Krsna. Devotees can accept anything if it helps to purify our
hearts and increase our service to the Lord and devotees can reject everything and anything if
they are not favourable; that is Rupa Goswami’s very simply and sublime teaching; “accept
what is favourable to acquire an attraction to Krsna and to reject what is unfavourable”. Srila
Rupa Goswami has said that “if you are attached to the materialistic enjoyments of society,
friendship and love in the material world; do not go to kesi ghat because there is the beautiful
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three form bending form of Govinda playing on His flute and once you see Him, you will
become so attracted to Him that all your attractions for material existence will go away”. It is
just a matter of time and this is our goal, this is the purpose of life: to become attracted to the
All-Attractive.
Krsna is the supreme magnetic force
Krsna is like a magnet who has a Supreme attractive powers and soul is like a particle of metal
which is naturally attracted to the magnet but when the soul is covered by the process of
becoming entangled within the mind by so many desires, by so much false ego; its like rust, like
dirt and then we are not attracted. The metal particle covered by dirt feels no attraction to the
magnet but if you just wash away that dirt and let the metal particle in what it is in its natural
state; it is immediately attracted to the magnet. That is the soul’s relation to Krsna. Krsna is the
supreme magnetic force. He is the all attractive one. And by regularly chanting the holy names
and living a pure life with the association of devotees, whether one is a householder at home or
whether one is living in the temple, if one lives in that association and chants Hare Krsna; one’s
heart becomes cleansed and as the heart becomes cleansed we become more and more and
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more attracted to Krsna and Srila Prabhupada our beloved Guru Maharaj has established these
centres all over the world simply to give the opportunity to associate with devotees and to
become attracted to Krsna. These temples are meant to be dynamic educational centres to teach
us how to perfect our lives.
Each and every devotee is such a rare jewel
The association of devotees is the most precious gift of God in all of creation. When Krsna
wants to bestow His most intimate mercy, He allows us to associate with His most sincere
devotees. Srila Krsna Das Kaviraj Goswami, the author of Sri Caitanya Charitamritam has
prayed that on this path of bhakti I am a cripple and I am tripping and falling but the stick in
the form of the mercy of the vaisnavas is keeping me able to continue walking forward on the
path of devotion. Srila Prabhupada has said that anyone who thinks that they can be Krsna
conscious without the association with sincere devotees is insane. Each and every devotee
who is honestly struggling to follow the path of the previous acaryas is such a rare jewel in this
world and to the degree that we are able to appreciate the earnest efforts of these rare jewels; to
that degree we will become dear to Krsna. And to the degree we try to see the false of others or
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the negative side of a person who is struggling to be Krsna conscious; to that degree we will be
neglected by Krsna.
Every other devotee is better than me
In fact even in the beginning days of the Hare Krsna movement, Srila Prabhupada saw all of his
new disciples and followers as representatives of his own Guru Maharaj. He explained it like
this as by serving these devotees he is having the opportunity to serve his Guru Maharaj so if
he is seeing us like this; how much should we see each other? Prabhupada said that the
Vaikuntha atmosphere is where every devotee is thinking every other devotee is better than
me and in Vaikuntha everyone is in competition, but that competition is who can serve the
other, who could take the lower position and push the other person in a higher position. But
this material world is an opposite; it is kuntha; a place of anxiety because everyone is thinking
how I can be the master, the controller and the lord and how others should see my greatness. A
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genuine devotee always wants to see and speak the greatness of others and a materialistic
person want to speak and see the greatness of himself.
Krsna makes the ocean reduced to the water contained within the footprint of a calf
Among the associates of Sri Caitanya, we never ever hear any of them talking about their own
accomplishments or glories but when they see someone else doing something wonderful for
Krsna and getting the mercy of Guru and Krsna; they rejoice, they have a festival of ecstasy. So
it is that consciousness that will make us dear to Krsna and it is that consciousness that will
make us dear to the spiritual masters who are Krsna’s representatives. And the powers of their
blessings; when they are pleased with us; carry us across all the obstacles of material life. There
are 6 primary impediments that are living with us in each of our hearts: lust, anger, envy, pride,
greed and illusion and these 6 enemies are impossible to overcome for any living being because
the all powerful energy of the Lord maya is fully manifesting in these enemies within each of us
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who try to cross the ocean of pride and these other anarthas within our heart but if we please
Krsna by our simple and humble desire to serve and chant His holy names and associate with
His devotees; He makes this ocean reduced to the water contained within the footprint of a calf.
Two religious principles
We are completely dependent on the mercy of Krsna and the vaishnavas. In fact Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu explained; in this age of Kali yuga there are only two religious principles: the
chanting of the holy names and the service to the vaishnavas. We have come to this Krsna
conscious movement because we want to be purified, we want to come out of this world of
misery and attain pure unalloyed love for the Lord. Therefore we must take these two
principles most seriously as the most important aspect of our life; the chanting of the holy
names of Krsna and the service to the Lord’s devotees.

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Trying to enjoy in a place of suffering!!!
To the degree we want to enjoy in this material world; to that same degree we must suffer
because when we want to enjoy in this material world two things take place: we hanker for
those things we don’t have and we lament for those things we cannot have. When you get the
objective of your affection you become attached to it and then due course of time you loose it
and you suffer and if you do not get that thing that you have the affection for; you simply suffer
due to longing to receive it. Trying to be happy in this material world is like diving into the
ocean and trying to be dry or jumping in fire to try to get cold. It is impossible? Trying to enjoy
in a place of suffering!!! It is an impossible situation. So why don’t we just try to go back to
Godhead? Krsna is inviting us. The only reason why are not going back to Godhead is because
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we want to remain in the world but Krsna descends in this world to reveal the beautiful
pastimes of the spiritual world, through His beautiful Vrindavana pastimes as well as His
teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita and anyone who understands this mercy of Krsna and takes it
within their heart will be happy forever in their original spiritual existence.
Krsna’s form of time: the destroyer of everything
In the verse from the eleventh chapter of Bhagavad-Gita Arjuna is asking Krsna to show him
the universal form. Srila Prabhupada is explaining herein (that) Arjuna did not want to see the
universal form due to his own doubt or curiosity, Arjuna’s motive was his compassion. He was
thinking in terms of the benefits of all living beings for all time to come in the future. This is the
nature of a vaisnava; the sorrow of others is the only sorrow he feels. Arjuna was thinking of
all the suffering souls trying to enjoy this material world; and again and again and again being
kicked by maya. But due to Arjuna’s great compassion and for those who are not willing to give
up this material world, he asked Krsna to show His universal form because to justify our
material attachments we can easily say who is Krsna, He is speaking this Gita that He is
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performing some lilas but He might a little smarter than me but that is not so great. Krsna
appeared in His beautiful two armed form and even if you go to India today most people do
not know what is Krsna; some say He was a good politician, some say He was naughty boy,
some say He should not be out at night with gopis, some say He was God but so am I, Krsna
was an incarnation of me; there are so many people like this but Arjuna wanted to show
everyone who is Krsna, so he asked Krsna to show this form which was so great that within the
form of the virat rupa all the universes were existing; how everything was being created and
ultimately everything was being destroyed by Him. And this universal form was covering all
direction and as Arjuna was looking at it, he was trembling in fear and he began to offer prayers
and Krsna claimed that this is My form of time, the destroyer of everything.
Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
(After seeing the virat rupa - universal form) Ajuna told Krsna (that) I cannot bare to see this
form, brighter than millions and millions of suns rising simultaneously, I see everything within
creation being destroyed by this form. So Arjuna prayed to Krsna please let me see Your
beautiful two armed form again. Because; you cannot love the virat rupa, you can only fear the
virat rupa. And religion that teach fear of God, they are approaching this mood of the virat
rupa, the creator and the destroyer, but Krsna’s original personal form is not a creator or a
destroyer; He is simply the lover of His devotees, His subordinate expansions create and
destroy in this earthly existence. So Arjuna in the mood of a compassionate preacher wanted
Krsna to reveal to everyone that Krsna is the Supreme Godhead and therefore when He speaks
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Bhagavad-Gita every one word is the Absolute Truth. It is not subject to argumentation,
speculation or debate; He is revealing the eternal truths by His supreme mercy. And the
preachers of Krsna consciousness in this mood of Arjuna are trying to establish Krsna as the
Supreme Personality of Godhead and His teachings as Absolute Truth out of compassion.
A devotee must become like a parama
The enjoyment of a swan is to play in the waters by entangling its neck around the stem of a
lotus flower. Similarly, a devotee must become like a parama-like such a swan and take its
enjoyment in completely absorbing itself in the remembrance of Krsna. Srila Prabhupada
explains that it cannot be done by mechanical means, we have to feel the urgency of taking
shelter of Krsna.
We should not chant like parrots. Srila Prabhupada explains that when a cat attacks and that
parrot feels the jaws of cat around its neck, it goes 'gnaw gnaw gnaw'…loudly. Then it dies
instantly. Similarly, if we chant our rounds as routine, hear the Srimad Bhagvatam, we behave
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in a way to hear Krsna..so Srila Prabhupada emphasises that we must read his books, associate
with proper devotees, so we grasp the urgency of taking shelter of Krsna at every moment
because the final exams shall come and if we're not prepared we may fail!
Srila Prabhupada’s most simple and complete instruction
A preacher should never think I am better than anyone else, you should never even think
yourself better than the most sinful, materialist person in the streets. We should simply thank
our Guru Maharaj and the Lord that we have received their mercy and as a servant of every
living entity, we should try to share that mercy with everyone and thus give everyone good
fortune. Through distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books, through distributing the holy names,
through distributing nice Krsna prasad, through distributing this philosophy and through
creating such a wonderful loving atmosphere within the temple, we can help attract everyone
to come and receive good fortune of Krsna’s mercy. But in every situation, we should always
be in the mood of the servant of the servant of the servant and in this mood of the servant of
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the servant of the servant, Krsna will reveal Himself to us through the beautiful sound of His
name and then only we can follow Prabhupada’s most simple and complete instruction to
chant Hare Krsna and be happy.
Every moment Krsna is incarnating Himself
Because whatever we are trying to enjoy is within the realm of time; every moment is so
precious. The Bhagavatam says with every rising and setting of the sun a materialistic person in
closer to death. We only have so many moments to live in this world and there is a danger at
every moment in this world. So every moment that we are wasting the opportunity to fix our
mind on Krsna and serve Krsna, every moment that we are trying to enjoy this material
existence is the greatest lost. So we should not see Krsna, who is appearing in the form of time
as each moment, as an opportunity for us to exploit and enjoy. Krsna says I am time; therefore
every moment Krsna is incarnating Himself; at that moment and giving us the chance to
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remember Him and serve Him; but if we are foolish then when Krsna appears before us as this
moment; we want to exploit and enjoy that moment for our own selfish purposes; like Ravana,
who wanted to steal Sita, we are trying to steal, we are trying to exploit the precious energy of
Krsna in the form of time. Srila Prabhupada told us (that) the sign of sincerity is that we do not
waste time, we worship every moment as an opportunity to come closer to Krsna, by always
thinking of Krsna. Krsna says always think of Me, at every moment. And Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu taught the simple process by which we can remember Krsna at every moment by
sincerely chanting the holy names.
The very essence of our spiritual life is determined by our faith
To the degree we have faith; to that degree we are advanced in spiritual life; progress in Krsna
Consciousness is non different than our progress in faith in Krsna. It is explained that one who
has implicit complete faith in Guru and Krsna, all knowledge is revealed (to him/her). So the
very essence of our spiritual life is determined by our faith. Rupa Goswami explains at the
beginning there is a little tiny seed of faith within our heart, that this by the mercy of Lord
Krsna, when Krsna sees that little trace of faith, He reciprocates as the Paramatma and directs
us to the association of devotees and in that association we hear the glories of the Lord, we hear
the Absolute Truth, the words of God and that faith transforms into a great eagerness to hear
more and learn more and then we began to follow the principles of Krsna Consciousness and
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later we meet a spiritual master and take initiation and we follow the principles of chanting 16
rounds, following the four regulative principles, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, hearing
Srimad Bhagavatam and humbly serving, developing a mood of a humble servant.
Lord’s name, form & pastimes are eternal
Sometimes the impersonalist’s philosophy; they declare that the pastimes of the Lord, the name
of the Lord, the form of the Lord are ultimately maya. This is the opinion of, what is called
mayavad philosophy; in another words the Absolute Truth is ultimately that Supreme complete
whole, all pervading, all cognisant with no form, with no personality and temporarily that
Absolute Truth manifest a particular form, personality also manifest a particular names but
they are only meant as an agent, as a means for us to merge back to our eternal existence within
that Absolute Truth. The impersonalist philosophers often times worship the deities externally
the same way we do; they also chant kirtan externally often the same way we do, they also read
Srimad Bhagavatam and engage in seva externally the same way we do and also in often times
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they weep and they cry as they are reciting and hearing the pastimes of the Lord in His various
incarnations apparently the same way the devotees do. But the difference is this that the
devotees have the understanding that the Lord’s name His form, His pastimes, they are eternal,
they are cause of all causes, they are Supreme. Whereas the impersonal philosophy teaches that
they are not eternal, they are only temporarily spiritual process by which we can separate our
consciousness from this material world; certainly they agree that they are spiritual but they are
only temporary manifestation of the spiritual to bring us back to the supreme position of
merging into the complete whole or into the Absolute Truth.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu when he would hear these explanation it would break His heart to
pieces; He could not bare it to hear that Krsna was a temporary manifestation and His names
were not perfect and complete and Absolute; to hear that His personality is not the supreme
goal it would break His heart so much that He could not bare it. To understand the personality
of Godhead is the cause of all causes, Krsna explains in the Gita, after many many births and
deaths of seeking the truth or following various religious processes when one finally comes to
the point of knowledge, he surrenders to Vasudeva, knowing Him to be cause of all causes and
all that it is, such a soul is very, very rare.
Become thoroughly attached to the Personality of Godhead
When we read the beautiful pastimes of Lord Sri Krsna in His relationship with His devotees
and we become thoroughly attached to that conception then we are eligible (to enter) into the
spiritual world. Even if we chant the name of the Lord, at the time of death, according to the
consciousness in which we are chanting the holy names, is the destination we will achieve. If we
chant the holy name of the Lord with the conception that the Lord is impersonal, perhaps, we
will achieve the impersonal Brahman, if we chant the holy name of the Lord in the mood of
philanthropy to human society, then perhaps we can achieve a higher planet like Svargaloka; if
we chant the holy name of the Lord in the mood of great mystic then perhaps we can achieve
those planets where the mystics reside maharloka, tapaloka. If we chant the holy name of the
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Lord with love and devotion for the Personality of Godhead relishing the sweetness in our
hearts in His beautiful form then the name of the Lord will transport us directly to the Lord’s
eternal abode Vaikuntha or Goloka.
Developing love for devotees
You should know that if somehow or other you have the good fortune of developing love for a
devotee, then you will certainly be accepted by Krishna. In fact Krishna will accept you more
intimately than if you try to love Him directly. The greatest fortune, the greatest achievement in
this entire existence is to somehow or other have the association or contact with those devotees
who have received the mercy of the Lord because that is the way in which the Lord's mercy is
attainable.
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Absolute is sentient Thou hast proved
To understand the personality of Godhead is the cause of all causes, Krsna explains in the Gita,
that after many, many births and deaths of seeking the truth or following various religious
processes when one finally comes to the point of knowledge he surrenders to Vasudeva,
knowing Him to be cause of all causes and all that it is, such a soul is very, very rare. Srila
Prabhupada when he was glorifying his Guru Maharaj this was in the 1930s on his Vyasa Puja,
Srila Prabhupada at that time was in Mumbai along with his very dear godbrothers preaching
and Prabhupada wrote that famous poem a beautiful poem glorifying Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati Thakura and within that poem there was this one line ‘Absolute is sentient Thou hast
proved. Impersonal calamity Thou hast moved’. When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati heard
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that, he became ecstatically pleased. He said Abhay Charan has understood the essence of my
mission, he has understood my heart, what I have come to this world to do “Absolute is
sentient Thou hast proved; impersonal calamity Thou hast moved”. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati was so pleased with this that he took Srila Prabhupada’s verse and whereever he
would go he would read it to all of the devotees; just see how Abhay has understood what I
have come for. He also explained that whatever that this devotee (Abhay Charan) writes, print
it because he has understood my mission and my heart perfectly.
When can we achieve Krsna?
Srimad Bhagavatam is teaching us systematically and thoroughly, the consciousness in which

we should become attached to and attracted to so that we can feel the chanting of harinam &
achieve the blessing of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And it is for this reason Srila Rupa
Goswami has instructed us that true devotional service must be utterly unmixed by any other
form of spirituality, it must be unmixed by the desire of fruitive activities, karma-kanda. It must
be unmixed by any aspiration for higher planets, it must be unmixed by any desire or aspiration
of mystic powers or siddhis; it must be unmixed by any aspiration through jnana or scriptural
discrimination with the idea of merging into the impersonal aspect of the Lord. If we want to
actually achieve the real bhakti which is the only means of attaining Krsna, we must
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exclusively keep our attention on the path of pure devotional service, we must put our
attention exclusively on Personality of Godhead and His beautiful form, His beautiful
pastimes, His beautiful instructions and in this mood His beautiful name. Then Srila Rupa
Gosvami explains with that exclusive attention on bhakti, we can achieve the realisation of the
spiritual world, we can achieve Krsna.
There is danger at every step
Sakatasura appeared in the most harmless form as a cart, as not a modern day device with a
motor and an engine, but simply a hand pulled cart; not filled with weapons or explosives but
just filled with ordinary household utensils such as pots, pans and spoons. In this way, he
appeared most harmless, absolutely in a harmless looking ordinary form, but behind this was
the deception of a very very great demon. When a devotee or when anyone is caught off guard,
when he is not expecting danger, (then) he is most vulnerable to be harmed and therefore the
shastra and the great saints have warned us again and again through their words, padam
padam yad vipadam na tesam - this world is a great place of danger at every step. We should
never think ordinary, all right or safe. Maya is every where and her potency is to delude us, to
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divert our attention away from Krishna’s service. And if the devotee is not very careful and
aware, then such a devotee will undoubtedly fall under the influence of maya, without even
knowing it.
Actually the danger is everywhere
How carefully maya is conducting her affairs in this world we cannot understand, we will
never understand but we can understand the principle; that she is everywhere and the shelter
of Krishna is absolutely essential at every place and at every moment. Queen Kunti, she, prayed
that terrible calamities may continue to fall upon her, because then it was easy to see the
dangers of the world and it was quite apparent how much she was requiring to utterly,
helplessly take shelter of Krishna and call out His name. But when everything is very nice,
everything is very good, it appears that there is no danger. But actually danger is everywhere
and when we are unprepared and we are not seeking shelter then we are vulnerable to be
deluded, to be diverted from the path of bhakti. So the most foolish person is the one who says,
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everything is all right, I am doing very well and everything is so nice and there is no problem, I
am very Krishna Consciousness. If a person thinks like that then he is right under the cart of
Sakatasura ready to fall on him, the most harmless looking ordinary part of our life.
Have that perfect humility
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu declared Himself to be a fool before His guru and He was proud to
declare Himself as a fool before His guru. Similarly when Srila Prabhupada first met his guru,
he was defeated by him and he was very happy; he realized yes I am a fool. So devotees always
feel themselves a fool before their guru; they never think they know what their guru knows;
that is the natural humility of a devotee. Rupa and Sanatana considered themselves more fallen
and sinful than Jagai and Madhai. Kaviraj Goswami declared that “if anyone hears my name,
looses all pious activities; anyone who speaks my name becomes sinful; I am more lower than a
worm in the stool; more sinful than Jagai and Madhai.” This is Krsna Dasa Kaviraj Goswami,
that is how he considered himself. But on the writing of this Caitanya Charitamrita, “It is not
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me writing, it is Mahaprabhu Himself writing; I am just His instrument and therefore every one
word of Caitanya Charitamrita is the most perfect, pure and highest knowledge.” He acted
perfectly, he spoke perfectly but he also had perfect humility; because when you have that
perfect humility then Krsna and Guru Maharaj can work through you but as long as you think
you are something great then all you have is just your own abilities to work with.
Sex desire completely weakens a person
Therefore padam padam yad vipadam - taken literally, it is not a figurative symbolic statement.
There is danger at every step; whatever situation you are in. And when you know there is
danger you are safer, you are more protected than if you think everything is all right because
everyone knows in warfare if you can catch the enemy off guard, you can defeat them. Just like
enemies throughout history have always done like this. They always just try to find that
particular time, when their opponents will be most off guard. Then they will strike. The Second
World War, everybody just the least expected moment they bombed. Actually they were
successful. The Japanese literally destroyed 100% of the entire US navy, there was nothing left
in one day. Because the whole navy was in one place at their central base and they bombed it;
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nobody had any expectations. They were all sleeping. And some couple of decades ago in
Israel, the high holy day when everyone must fast so when everyone was fasting and in their
temples worshipping, at that time massive armies came and attacked to take over. So in this
way, in warfare, if you know the vulnerability then you can defeat. And when are you most
vulnerable? When you are not expecting. It just like in the Mahabharata, what was that great
warriors name - Kichaka; the son of one great king, he was trying to seduce Draupadi. And
Bhima he became very angry. So Bhima was, not only powerful but he was also very intelligent;
because this Kichaka was undefeatable, very strong; so Bhima decided I will get him at his
weakest point. So he disguised himself as Draupadi and went into the room at night. And
Kichaka he was completely unaware not thinking at all of fighting. He was thinking about
enjoying sex life. And sex desire completely weakens a person. He was completely weakened.
Completely. Completely just like in a helpless condition, begging this woman for some
enjoyment. And in that state Bhima just easily poverised him (and killed him).
In this fear is fearlessness where there is no fear
If a person is off guard, he is very vulnerable. Maya is everywhere, she is all pervasive and her
constant meditation in the service of Krishna is to test the devotee and to delude the materialist.
And therefore it is Krishna’s mercy when He keeps the devotee in a situation where he never
thinks ‘everything is all right’ but he always knows that there is danger. Of course this doesn’t
mean that a devotee should be just walking around in complete fear every day. The
materialistic people, they are like rabbits; the lion is about to devour them and their defense
mechanism is to keep their eyes closed; if they don’t see it they don’t have to worry about it. In
this way the so called fearlessness and peace of mind of a materialistic person is just that he is
blinding his eyes; he is not willing to see the reality around him. He puts himself in a dream
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world, in a hallucination around him but in reality there is no protection. So does that mean that
a devotee should always be fearful? A devotee should be in fear of maya always running to
Krishna because in the lotus feet of Krishna you become fearless. So we should have fear of
maya and that fear of maya brings complete fearlessness into our life. A pure devotee is so
much immersed in Krishna, taking shelter of Krishna, just thought of forgetting Krishna is more
fearful than death. So this fear is very healthy; in this fear is fearlessness where there is no
fear of maya.
Carefully engage your mind in devotional activities
We must never put our trust in this illusory energy. We must always understand the need of
strictly surrendering to Krishna. And that is why it is so important to have a very disciplined,
strict life; to keep that determination alive in our hearts. Srila Prabhupada used to tell us, “If
you simply, strictly and attentively chant sixteen rounds every day; if you carefully follow the
four regulative principles, if you carefully attend the Mangal Aarti everyday, if you carefully
hear Srimad Bhagavatam every day, Bhagavad Gita everyday, if you carefully engage your
mind in devotional activities, then (from) maya, with all her illusions and tricks, you will be
protected. Because you will be aware, you’ll be aware. But of course you have to be humble,
because as soon as pride enters your heart you are no longer aware.
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Never become mechanical
Rupa Goswami warns us that a devotee must be very attentive even in the most ordinary
activities in devotional service, never to become routine. That just to become mechanical,
automatic; this is the time I do this, this is the time I do this. Whatever we do as sadhana must
be done with bhavana, must be with feeling, must be with Consciousness, what I am doing and
why I am doing and who I am doing it for, (and) what is the purpose? Whether we are
sweeping the floor, whether we are listening to class, whether we are doing our work outside as
a doctor or a consultant or a temple president or food for life or a lawyer or a proprietor of
children’s orphanage, book distributor, pujari, whatever we do, we must do it with a
Consciousness, with a feeling that I am doing this as a servant of the servant to please Krishna,
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to please vaishnavas; (and) how can I do it better, how can I do it with more awareness, what
Consciousness; that is very essential.
Bhakta means you want to please
Hiranyakashipu wanted strength; he wanted infallibility that could conquer everyone and he
knew that by his own accord he could not develop such a condition. So what he did is he
worshipped Lord Brahma; and how he worshipped Brahma; through such kind of austerities,
100 celestial years of standing on the tips of his toes with his arms above his head and not
moving, giving up eating, sleeping, drinking, practically giving up breathing and what kind of
tolerance over the thousands and thousands of years, ants built ant hive around him and those
ants and other insects were eating his flesh and yet his hands which were reached up above his
head would not come down. Sometimes in kirtan we raise our arms and we have hard
timejust keeping them up; through one mantra our arms are getting tired!! He kept his hands
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up for 100 celestial years. And when a little fly comes on us, we become disturbed and
whenever it is, our hands has to go where the fly is, what to speak of a mosquito biting or if
there is a little scratch. But he kept his arms above his head without moving them and there
were insects eating his flesh and they actually ate all his flesh, there was noting except his bones
and yet he did not move, he as like a statue of stone, he was so determined, he was determined
for sense gratification, just to enjoy his senses he was willing to endure so much hardship
because he knew Brahma would come, he was forcing Brahma to come, he was not a bhakta of
Brahma, bhakta means you want to please, he was not trying to please Lord Brahma, he was
trying to perform such an incredible manifestation within the universe that Brahma was obliged
and he had to come and give him whatever he wanted.
Force of time is also coming upon us
Hiranyakashipu hated Narayana because his own brother Hiranyaksha was killed by Him. He
wanted to challenge the very power and force, which was the source of death of his brother
who was equally as great as him. It is a fact; that we have seen all of our relatives being
destroyed by Krsna in form of time, all of our friends; and that force of time is also coming
upon us but we are fighting against it, we are fighting and fighting and material civilisation
everyone is dedicating their lives to fight against the inevitable; the inevitable is misery and
death. And through so many forms of intoxication people are somehow or another trying to
forget the reality of the world that they are in a place of misery and death. Modern civilisation is
to cover that, (but) in spiritual cultures people do not try to cover that reality, they discuss it
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openly and they are willing to look at it and see it for what it is. But to the degree a society is
materialistic, they do not want to think about it, they don’t want to be reminded, they want to
enjoy to their full capacity by completely intoxicating themselves in one way or another to
forget the reality; that this world is full of misery and death. They want the enjoyment and the
bliss of spiritual world without Krsna; they want either themselves or someone else but not
Krsna.
The more rotten garbage, the more taste for a crow
Prabhupada explains that the swans they go to the beautiful clear lakes where there are nice
lotus flowers growing and the swans especially drinks the nectar from the stem of the lotus
flower and those who are swan like people they find their enjoyment in going to those pious
places with the nectar of Hari katha and Hari kirtan is always being sung. And such swans are
always seeking the opportunity to come on a pilgrimage to those places. But, the crows, you
will never see crows in a nice, beautiful lake with lotus flowers; they are not interested; it is
boring to them; the taste of nectar is too subtle for them; they like nice crude stool, urine and
garbage; rotten garbage, fresh garbage is not so nice; the more rotten, the more taste for a crow.
Wherever there is big nice garbage and sewage; you will find a pilgrimage of crows; eating,
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drinking, sucking, fighting over it and that is their form of enjoyment. So subject matters of this
material world and sense gratification; it is all like garbage, it is all like sewage and those people
who are like crows they go on pilgrimage to those places where they can best enjoy their senses
and hear about all kinds of worldly sound vibrations.
The new crows: the most excited & enthusiastic eaters of garbage
Srila Prabhupada explained that old crows they have been eating this garbage for so long they
just do it as they don’t know what else to do but it is not very exciting thing for them. But new
crows that have not tasted this stool and urine yet; they are very excited, very ambitious they
would work so hard to taste that refuse. So the people of the west, Srila Prabhupada explained,
they are like old crows, their whole culture is based around sense gratification from the very
beginning, generation after generation they are just enjoying the facilities of the animals eating,
sleeping, mating and defending and creating so much science, technology, entertainment that
arouses their animal propensities and gives them some sense of enjoyment, but they are not so
excited about this. But when the Indians come to the west, they are very excited; they never
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tasted this before; they never had such facilities for sense gratification and they are the hardest
workers; they would work so hard and they are so excited and they are so enlivened and it is so
new and fresh; they would never want to go back to India. They will send money to India;
they don’t want to come back, may be to visit; this is a terrible place, there is not enough
garbage and refuse here, too many lotus flowers here!! And Prabhupada saw this; he called the
Indians in the west the new crows, the most excited, enthusiastic eaters of garbage, stool and
urine. But now they have opened the doors of India to western culture so now what we have is
a whole country with new crows. And one famous person from the west comes to India in
order to give a type of sense gratification that the westerners like; which is total bombardment
and infatuation of senses towards enjoyment; that’s all. They spend millions of dollars with all
kinds of machinery and all kinds of special affects just to mesmerise your mind and each one of
your senses; just become conquered by this temporary experience, it is all sexual energy, that’s
all; it is because sexual energy is the most intoxicating form of garbage, refuge, sewage; it brings
out the lowest tendencies of the animal nature within us.
The higher self and the lower self
Krsna says in Bhagavad-Gita that we all have a higher self and a lower self. The higher self
wants to be good, be kind and surrender to god and the lower self wants to be an animal; we
can’t even talk about what our lower self is saying; sometimes it just wants to eat, sleep, mate
and defend in the most intensified possible ways. And culture (&) civilisation means an
atmosphere created within society where the lower self is subdued and the higher self is
encouraged; that is what is called civilisation of human beings where anything that arouses
those animal tendencies are minimised and they are outlawed and those things that bring about
goodness and charity and devotion and realisation of higher truths, those things should be
encouraged. That is civilisation; that is varnasrama dharma. But here, someone is coming who
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is empowered by maya to arouse the sexual energy and the lower animalistic propensity; and
human being with millions of dollars of technology all aimed to do only that.
Spiritual world is the place of the greatest fun
Civilisation means to orchestrate our lives to purify our heart; not put more garbage in our
heart but get rid of that garbage and keep it out; that is intelligence; that is sanity; that is human
existence; that is the path of real peace and transcendental love. We must understand that it is
Narayana, Krsna who is actually the goal of our life. We should be very conscious to associate
with those people; to hear those sound vibrations; to perform those activities that bring us close
to Narayana, Krsna. And Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has stated it so enjoyable because actually
the spiritual world is a place of happiness; it is the place of the greatest fun. We read about
Krsna and the cowherd boys; how are they playing so many wonderful intimate games with
each other, such nice relationships, simply love!!! Ecstasy comes through love but if we try to
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find that love by reposing that propensity in someone that is not worthy of our love, it is
frustrated and because people have forgotten that Narayana is the goal of life, they put so many
other idols and so many other people and try to repose their love in them but there is no love.
Their substitutes never work
These big, big materialistic entertainers wherever they go, people are mad after them. They
want to touch them, they want to get their autograph, they want to pull their hair out, they
want something from them; (so) they have to have bodyguards; you don’t have bodyguards
from people who love you, you have bodyguards from people that want to exploit you. So we
saw in the newspaper how when the concert began the deity was late (laughter) so people were
going mad just waiting for him, the expectation where is he? Why is he late? It came to the
point when everyone starts screaming out his name, not Harinam (laughter) some other type of
nam and they were calling and calling and then he appeared and then everyone was just
fainting, crying and screaming and everything else that they do and they all started dancing.
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We have our greetings for the deity everyday where we anxiously wait to see Sri Sri Radha
Gopinatha and the curtains open and it is a wonderful darshan and then we start dancing; so
this is the spiritual world. But without Krsna they are trying to create that world, without Krsna
trying to create some substitute, but their substitutes never work, because Krsna is eternal, full
of knowledge and full of bliss; He is saci-cit-ananda-vigrahah. But these others, these other
replacement for Krsna, they are growing old, they are trying to stop through so many
processes but they cannot stop it and ultimately there is no love, there may have been 50,000
people but nobody loves this person, they are just trying to exploit him for their own sense
gratification in the name of love; that’s all. And those people are the loneliest people in the
world.
Birds of the feather flock together
The Vedic civilisation is very simple; just give up all you nonsense, understand who is the real
objective of love, who is the real objective of your admiration and your service and whose name
would actually really bring to the destination of eternal bliss? It is Krsna. He is the source of
everything, He is the goal of everything and if we simply understand this; we can be happy. We
all have our choice whether we want to be swan or crow, and if you want to be a swan, you
associate with swans; if you want to be a crow, you associate with crows. If you want to
associate with swans, you go to nice temples, in nice holy places where swans are around
drinking nectar and if you want to be with crows, there are so many pilgrimage places (of
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crows); there are so many restaurants, so many stadiums, so many places where crows are
gathered together; birds of the feather flock together, literally.
An expression of Srila Prabhupada’s great love and compassion
Srila Prabhupada was so kind, so merciful, and so full of love and compassion that, under the
influence of Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s causeless and supreme mercy, he wanted to make all
crows into swans; he wanted to redirect everyone’s attention away from all of these miserable
substitutes & idols of this world and bring their consciousness back to Krsna. India is a land
where there is a heritage of spiritual culture and people have the inner sense that yes I do not
want to take another birth and be degraded, I want to be liberated, I want to understand God
and the Truth; it is a natural tendency of anyone born in India. But somehow or other, due to
association with crows, the nation is becoming a nest of crows and more and more and more
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and more of maya’s agents are being sent on their mission because if India is finished, the world
is finished as far as any spiritual hope. So this Krsna consciousness movement is an
expression of Srila Prabhupada’s great love and compassion within India, outside of India,
everywhere. Let all these people who are frustrated or in the process of being frustrated; let
them find real happiness and peace in Krsna. Austerities you have to perform but what is the
result even in material life; that concert, I saw in the article people had to stand in traffic jams
for hours and they were crowded in this crazy place for hours, so much tapyasa but this tapyasa
is in the mode of passion and ignorance and then their senses become bombarded and they
think oh that was a life time experience. It is true; you have to take another life and another life
and another life due to these experiences. But if we perform some tapyasa for Krsna what is the
result? what is the goal? the greatest treasure of peace, love and happiness. So Krsna is the goal
and those people who help us to remember Krsna, they are Krsna’s representatives, so we want
to be with them, we want to follow them, we want to worship them because through them we
get Krsna.
Education means to bring out what is within you
We are the Conscious force that is animating our life and according to all the great philosophers
and all the great religious men of the past and all the great scriptures of the world, the symptom
of Consciousness leads to the understanding of our real identity which is the soul. We are then
consciousness that is the self. Now what are the needs of the self? This body and mind are
always changing. We are studying hundreds of courses in the university to suit the needs of the
body and mind. We are completely neglecting the needs of the self. So if we are talking of self
management, you can’t manage something unless you know what to manage. We don’t even
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know who we are? This is the most fundamental principle of education. Do you know what the
word Education means? The word education comes from the Greek word Educary which
means to bring out what is within you. Does that have anything to do with modern education?
Modern education is to super impose from outside into your brains so much data, so many
statistics, facts and figures. But the real meaning of the word, ’Education” is to withdraw what
is within you. Real knowledge is within your own heart, but we are so externalized in our
approach to life that we are completely neglecting the real needs of ourselves.
There is a need for self management
Look at the mess the world is in today. Do you think it is the uneducated presence that is
producing the chaos in the world today? This world is plagued with so many problems that
no body knows what to do anymore. Everyone just has to put blindness over their eyes and
think, “Well! I am going to make my life the best, I could make it, but as far as the world’s
problems- forget it, its too complicated, its gone too far. Even the biggest politicians and
scientists in the world, they are throwing their hands up in the air and saying, “It’s too late.”
Look what a mess we have made!!! The ozone is breaking down, the water is all polluted, the
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air is polluted, there is nuclear radiation filling the earth ready to break out of their storage
compartments and pollute the ground. Population explosions, food shortages, terrorism
popping up everywhere, there are wars practically in every corner of the world! There is crime!
There is endless rise in alcoholism and drug addiction! There are horrible and incurable
diseases that are threatening the existence of mankind! Do you ever read the newspapers? I’ m
sure you do. In America, drug addiction is growing so much; some cities are so plagued with
drug addiction that they do not know what to do. It’s growing by the day. Aids is expanding
day by day more and more, they say by the year two thousand twenty, one forth of America
will die of aids, if it keeps growing at the rate it is now. What to speak of due to pollution in the
air; green house of effect, the solarised caps are melting, the oceans are rising and about one
fifth of the land of today within fifty years may be under water, these are all man made
problems, not natural problems. Manmade due to mis-management, mismanagement of the
environment and where do this mismanagement of environment come from? mismanagement
of the self… because people are victims of lust and greed and pride and envy and illusion and
anger; they are engaged in horrible activities which are creating horrible consequences which is
effecting whole environment of all life on earth. There is a need for self management. If a person
learns to find peace within his own heart, if a person understands knowledge of God that is
within his soul, then free from all these (anarthas) within his mind, one could live in this world
most effectively with full concentration, with full determination; at energy not being diverted
into other directions (but) for doing real good work for oneself, one’s family and entire human
civilization.
Without love there is no question of happiness
In the universities of America, I gave lectures almost everyday. When I was in America, I have
given lectures at Harvard, MIT a few times but regularly in mid west Ohio, Pennsylvania and
these universities, west Virginia, Illinois etc. And what I find in the atmosphere of colleges of
America are so corrupt and so degraded, even though they are factually teaching the highest
systems of knowledge in the fields of science, technology, business, computer operations and so
far. As soon as the children, the students leave their classes, there are drugs, there is illicit sex,
there is alcohol. There is absolutely no management or control over their senses. They become
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completely selfish; intoxication, illicit sex making them completely self centered and selfish.
They get the qualities of lust and greed and envy and pride and then the same students attain
tremendous amount of immense power by the knowledge they are acquiring. And when they
come out of school, what you expect they are going to do with powerful knowledge that they
have simultaneously acquired with greed and pride and envy and lust and anger and illusion.
They are going to take that power and with greed in mind, with no sense of compassion, mercy
or self discipline, they are going to create havoc and chaos in the world. And if you doubt what
I am saying; read in newspapers, look at the world, it’s the educated class of men that are
causing these big problems. Where is men’s love and concern for one another? Without love
there is no question of happiness. And you may be turning your heads and saying, “What is
this guy talking about, it’s useless!” But believe me I have been in your position, I lived in a
country which is far more materially progressive than you can imagine and I have been in that
society and I have had all the opportunity to take over big companies and everything at my
hands. So you may be saying,” Oh! What’s this religion, it’s not practical.” But I am speaking
practical to you. At some of the wealthiest people in the world, factually the highest rate of
suicide in the world is the upper class income of America. They are more prone to suicide,
sleeping pills and psychiatrists than any class of men on the planet earth. This is a statistic. Do
you think by becoming big and wealthy and so on you are going to find happiness in this life?
You will not. At the same time it does not mean that you can’t be a multi-billionaire, big, big
chairman or president of board, successful person in the field of business. If you find integrity
of your own self consciousness and you find the knowledge and happiness and love within,
then in any situation you can prosper.
Self-realization is really the key to progressive happiness
The man of real intelligence or the woman of real intelligence is a person who is equal in
success and failure, happiness and distress, honor and dishonor and in pleasure and pain
because such a person is deriving happiness and joy from within. Now if you are in that
condition, whatever the crisis may be, you will have an equal mind and cool head and then
you will be most effective. So from every level of perspective of life, self realization is really the
key to progressive happiness and peace and it is also the key to the most effective manner of
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conducting our affairs in what ever field of activity we pursue in life. Human life is specifically
meant for this purpose of self realization.
Bhagavad Gita is a universal scripture
As I was explaining earlier, someone may say that this self realization is for the yogis and
sadhus, what it has to do with a practical person of this world with a family and a job?
Bhagavad Gita is specifically a scripture meant for the people who live within this world. You
have all heard of Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita is not a sectarian scripture. It is a universal
scripture; which explains how to live in an artful and beautiful manner; every moment of our
life. Arjuna was the recipient of the teachings of the Bhagavat Gita. He was a warrior. He was a
politician. He had to manage the affairs of the state and he had to defend the laws of the state.
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This is a very very practical type of a service. He was by no means a sadhu or a sanyasi. Now
when he was faced with a very difficult crisis, talk about crisis management, he was faced by
such a crisis; he was standing between the two armies and he realized that his friends, well-
wishers and relatives were on both the sides. He didn’t want to fight; he wanted to run from the
problem. He told Krishna that, “I’m not going to fight, I’m going to run away to be a yogi or a
sadhu or a sanyasi, but I’m not going to stay here Krishna and fight.” Some people say that
people like me are the people who have escaped from the world; I couldn’t face the problems of
the world; you couldn’t face practical life so you ran off to become a sadhu. Arjuna wanted to
become like that. The whole scripture of Bhagavad Gita was so to convince Arjuna that you
have no right to run away from the problems that you are facing in your occupation. You
must face them and you must solve them. You must fight because you are a fighter. You must
work; work hard. But you must do it in divine consciousness, in consciousness of self
realization.
This world is a battlefield
Bhagavad Gita didn’t teach Arjuna to be a lazy mendicant. Arjuna was the most determined
and effective fighter in the whole battlefield. Why? Because he had the highest purpose in
which he fought. He was fighting for Krishna; he was not fighting for his own vices. Now when
you get out of college you will find out very quickly or you may have already found out that
this world is a battlefield. That is a fact. No matter what field of activity you take, it is a
battlefield. Even you take the occupation of a simple sadhu like myself, it is a constant battle.
What to speak if you go into the field of business where the competition is so fierce at every
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step that people are out to cut each others throat for money. What to speak if you are just trying
to be ethical and moral. The propaganda of de-morality is just bombarding you, bombarding
your family, bombarding your children from all sides. This world is a battlefield. And
Bhagavad Gita does not teach us how to run from the problems, does not teach us how to run
from crisis, it teaches us how to stand up and fight in divine consciousness with all power and
strength of God behind us, with the purest motivation, and in state of real peace, in the light of
all opposition. If you can learn that type of self-management, you will be perfectly successful in
life, materially, spiritually and all that ways.
Evaluate what you really want in life
You can be a doctor, a lawyer, a housewife, a marketer, businessman, industrialist, when you
add the name of God to your life and develop these inner godly sentiments, awaken these pure
qualities within your life, when purify your mind from the vices we were talking about which
are simply diversions and distractions, then you can factually be a complete whole human
being. You are in this world but you are also not losing the essence of your life. Lord Jesus
Christ said, what is the use of you gain the whole world, but you lose your own soul. The moral
of the world today is gain the world and lose your soul. It’s not that you can’t gain the world,
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but don’t lose your soul. We are not telling you to give up the world, we are pleading you don’t
lose your soul for your own sake and for the sake of all humanity. When we chant the holy
names, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama
Rama Hare Hare, we are not simply performing some Hindu rituals. If you are a Muslim, you
chant the name Allah, and if you are Christian, chant the name Christ. But this is a scientific
method of awakening the divine nature within us. So my request is, take seriously in
consideration, the words I am speaking, ponder upon them within the core of your heart,
evaluate what you really want in life. Don’t stop your studies by any means, work hard, but
what is it which really brings fulfillment and meaning to your existence?
How to love god in whatever we do
I have started to feel that all these people who have accomplished the greatest in this field of
materialism, they are miserable, their lives are empty. Many of them are destroying the whole
society due to the exploitative methods that they are accepting in their pursuit. If I would have
got someone to teach me, I would have probably been a very, very successful businessman who
is God conscious. But I could not, not find anybody who can answer the philosophical questions
that I had in life, especially in the college I was going to. So I decided to travel around the world
and study the various religions of the world, different philosophies of the world and different
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values that people live by. After some years I found myself traveling as a sadhu in India and
then I met my spiritual master. My Spiritual master taught me the essence of what is in all the
great religions of the world; how to love god in whatever we do. He told me, “Yes you can go
back and be a businessman, that’s very good but there is also a need of people who dedicate
their lives exclusively to educate others in this subject matter. That is also part of need of this
world.” Just like there is need of doctors; just like some people say to me what if everyone
would become a sadhu like you, then what would happen to the world? Right? That’s probably
what you are thinking, but what I said, “you want to study business”? This is a business school.
“What if everyone would become a businessman?” Couldn’t function that way. There has to be
doctors, correct! There has to be lawyers. Otherwise everybody will die, there has to be farmers
growing food, there has to be politicians. Sometimes we wish there didn’t have to be politicians.
There has to be politicians organizing the affairs of the state. There has to be warriors defending
the state. There has to be business men, marketers, bankers. Similarly for the spiritual progress
of society there has to be a class of men, who dedicate their entire energy to educate others in
this spiritual science; it doesn’t mean everyone must be like that. But there is a need for these
class of men. So my guru Maharaj convinced me, that although 90% of our congregation are
businessmen, housewives, farmers, doctors, lawyers, musicians, architects, engineers, there has
to be a small percentage of people who are simply dedicating their lives, to hearing the
problems of all these people and giving them spiritual counseling and giving spiritual direction
to society. So my taking this dress was not to run from the problems of this world, but
according to need of the world, there is a need of people taking this life also, this occupation
also; to face the problems of this world; to fight the crisis of the world and try to improve the
quality of the world.
Karma Vs Dharma
Qn. (student): Lord Krishna insisted on doing karma, what is the difference between karma and
dharma?
Ans. (HHRNSM): Dharma - let us give a definition of this word dharma. Dharma means the
constitutional nature of every living being. The dharma of sugar is that it is sweet. The dharma
of water is that it is liquid. Now when water in its unnatural condition, it becomes solid; that is
adharma. When sugar is hot, that is not its nature; that is adharma. Do you understand? The
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natural character is its dharma. The natural characteristics of the soul, the consciousness within
everyone is that; we are part of the supreme soul or God; to engage in whatever activities we
perform, in loving service of God, that is dharma, because that is our natural quality, to serve
God with love. When we are serving something else and someone else, that is adharma. So
karma means to act without reference to our true nature, then we implicate ourselves in the
laws of karma, which is that law of nature, “For every action, there is equal and corresponding
reaction.” If you act bad to one person, you will get bad result yourself. If you give pain to one
person, that pain, must come upon you. That is the law of nature, if you act benevolently and
with goodness to another, then goodness must come upon you. This is not sentiment. This is the
law of nature. It is the law of Physics that for every action there is equal and corresponding
reaction. This also applies to our actions. When we act not in reference to our real nature, while
engaging in every one of our acts, in connection with our relationship with God, then
everything we do is within the laws of karma. Good karma, bad karma. Action reaction. But
dharma is when we act according to our true essential nature. Krishna says in Gita, yat karosi
yad asnasi, yat juhoshi dadasi yat, yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurusva madarpanam- all that
you do, all that you eat, all that you give away should be done as an offering to the Supreme.
Krishna told Arjuna, fight in divine consciousness as a service to me and then you will be free
from all karma.
Self-Realisation, the Supreme Science, is King of Education
The self by nature is part of the Supreme Self or God. You in essence are eternal, full of
knowledge and full of bliss; happiness, saccidananada, that is the nature of you. Now you are
suffering if you are not full of bliss, if you are not full of knowledge, or if you are not in
realization of your eternity. That means you are in a diseased condition. You are in unhealthy
condition. You have forgotten the essence of your own being; the realization of you. Who are
you? I am telling you; the consciousness within you. Who is seeing me? your eyes or you? Are
you seeing through an eye, or you are an eye? Are you an ear, or you are hearing me through
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your ear? So who are you? You don’t even know! Some mysterious Consciousness is witnessing
this through your body. But you think you are the body. You are flesh, or are you feeling
through your flesh; you are feeling through your flesh, but we don’t even know, that who that
person is who is witnessing, that’s experiencing. There is a science of Physics to understand the
flesh, right? There is science of psychiatry to understand the mind; (so) there is also a science of
self-realization to understand the soul, the consciousness; it is a science. Today religion has
become so degraded that everyone, simply “I believe this, you believe that, whatever I believe is
all right. Whatever you believe is all right. I think this and I think that”. And it is so unscientific
and ridiculous that most educated class of people say, “Forget religion.” It is so dogmatic and
ritual. But if you read Vedas, religion is approached as a great science, raja vidya raja guhyam
pavitram idam utamam- Krishna says in the Bhagavat Gita, this is king of education, the
supreme science because it gives you direct perception of you, the self, through realization. So
let us approach self-realization for what it is, it is a science. It must be understood
systematically, in a scientific manner with our intelligence. Let us kick out all this dogmatic
unscientific, un-philosophical belief system that goes in the name of religion. The nature of the
Consciousness is that it is eternal, it is full of knowledge and full of bliss. It is part of God
therefore all the godly qualities are your inherent nature. But why are we not enjoying the very
facilities that are our right to enjoy? Because we have forgotten due to ignorance our true
nature.
Share that ecstacy with others
Essentially we are the eternal souls, we the infinitesimal part and parcel of the Supreme soul,
Lord Krishna. As Krishna is sat chit anand vigraha, eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss, as
His plenary expansion in the jiva tattva, we are also sat chit anand, eternal, full of knowledge
and full of bliss, not just temporary happiness. The bliss that Krishna is speaking about, is to be
unlimited joyful, immersed in an ocean of divine love and peace; Ecstasy; and to taste the
sweetness of that ecstasy is the only real goal and to share that ecstasy with others. How
many people in society that you know, or heard today, can honestly say that they are in
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ecstasy? People are somehow or other struggling for survival, at the best. Whoever they may be,
the rich, the poor, everyone is struggling for survival. And just to work like an ass, eat like a
hog, mate like pigeon, and struggle to make nice accommodations for these arrangements. That
is not the goal of life.
Perceive everything in truth and reality
'Avidya' means ignorance; which is the greatest enemy on earth; due to ignorance, just like if
you have a disease, and there are symptoms of that disease, the basic disease is ignorance. And
the symptoms of that disease are what I was explaining before, lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride
and envy. And these things are filling our minds and filling our hearts because the disease of
ignorance is covering the natural healthy condition of our self. So the process of self realization
is simply healing that diseased condition and coming back to our natural original state, love of
God. Love of all living beings is inherent within you. It is our original consciousness. By
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chanting the names of god, by avoiding those activities which further perpetuates this
ignorance, then we are naturally healed. Just like if you have the disease of the body, the first
thing the doctor will do is to give you the medicine that heals the disease, he will also tell you to
refrain from those activities which further aggravate the disease. So there are four pillars of
sinful life, intoxication, illicit sex, gambling and meat-eating, they destroy the qualities of
truthfulness, cleanliness, self-control and mercy. So therefore by refraining from these activities
which aggravates the disease and by associating with saintly person by performing puja with
proper understanding of what we are doing and why, by philosophical reflection on the real
goal of life, and specially by chanting God’s names, this is the medicine which literally awakens
the original consciousness within us. And when we are purified, then we can perceive
everything in truth and reality.
The topmost well-wisher
When our enthusiasm is directed by such souls, our enthusiasm is then purely and truly
engaged in God's service and that is the greatest wealth; to have the mercy of the great sadhus
and the direction and inspiration to serve the Lord and thus serve every living being. By
serving Krishna, by watering the root of the tree, the whole tree is nourished. One who loves
God is the topmost well-wisher for every living being. He is the most compassionate, most
charitable, most sincere welfare worker in the whole face of the earth, because he has genuine
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love for everyone, he has genuine concern for the suffering of all living beings, he is free from
all selfishness, he is free form all fanaticism, he is a genuine friend for every being. This is the
quality of one who is the genuinely enthusiastic in the service of God.
The soul has an ecstatic propensity to love God
Srila Prabhupada had complete faith in the chanting of the holy names of the Krsna. Human life
is especially meant for the purpose of purification. The lower species, they, are engaged in
trying to make arrangements to find enjoyment and to protect whatever enjoyment they have.
However, human form of life is especially designed by the creator for the purpose of
purification. What is that purification? Bring our consciousness back to its original eternal
natural state. Srila Prabhupada explains how we are all originally Krsna conscious entities, we
are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord Krsna, sac-cit-ananda, eternal, full knowledge and full
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of bliss. As a fragmental spiritual spark coming form the Supreme fire of Krsna, we are also
eternal, full of knowledge and full of unlimited joy. Then how is it within our life there is so
much frustration? The great scriptures explained; it is because we are identifying ourselves as
the temporary designation of this material world, we are thinking I am a man, I am a woman, I
am of this particular nationality or another, I am young or old; as label ourselves with various
names, caste, races. However this material body is only a temporary place of residence through
the eternal soul, but the soul has within its nature an ecstatic propensity to love God and the
real happiness of life is when that pure love; that is born within us; is freely expressed toward
the Supreme object of love of Krsna.
The more you try to get out, the more you become entangled
Lord Caitanya is the incarnation of the Lord who has appeared in this age of Kali to personally
and practically demonstrate how we should chant the holy names of the Lord. He explained
that the chanting of Krsna’s holy names cleanses the mirror of the mind. This mind which is
situated within our hearts it is like a mirror, it is meant to reflect the pure nature of the soul, to
give light not only to ourselves but to the whole world. However when the mirror is covered by
dust and dirt you cannot see yourself; all you see is the dust and the dirt. The purpose of a
mirror is to reveal you but now the mirror of the mind is so much covered by the various
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attachments that we try to enjoy or avoid the suffering; that is the relationship to the physical
body and the subtle mind. And therefore we are engaged in so many activities just to try to find
happiness and avoid distress but the law of nature has been created similar to the way a spider
creates the web; the web looks like the most comfortable place to a fly, it looks very soft nice
silken threads and sometimes outside you may see flies flying all around and the fly is tired so
he sees this wonderful hammock so soft, and goes up and down, so he goes and rest on it and
he actually comfortable as he is resting in it, then it is time to leave and then he realises that
he cannot leave; he is stuck!! Then he sees the spider coming towards him and then he tires to
get out more, it is an emergency, I have to get out of this place, however once the fly is in the
web; the more you try to get out the more you become entangled; it’s the nature of the web,
the more enthusiastic the fly is to get out the more he becomes completely wound up with the
threads of the web and if he is really an enthusiastic fly, you cannot even see him anymore, you
just see a white ball go zzzzzz and the spider, as death, comes and eats him. Hare Krsna!!!
Lord Chaitanya is most magnanimous
When we chant the holy names of the Lord, we are crying to Krsna to save us. And how does
Krsna save us? Because He is non-different from His name, and because He is all pure, when
we chant attentively within our heart, it cleanses all our illusions, all of our attachments and
awakens the pure state of our original consciousness and then we are liberated form the web of
material existence. So Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He, came to give this name of Krsna without
discrimination to everyone and to anyone. In fact in Sri Caitanya Charitamrita it is described by
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Sri Krsna Das Kaviraj Goswami, the author, that Lord Caitanya is the top most Supreme of all
incarnations of God; He is Krsna Himself from His original form but acting in a superior way;
in the sense that He was magnanimous, this magnanimity is the special feature that makes Lord
Caitanya the most merciful from all incarnations. And then Krsna Das Kaviraj Goswami
explains what is the meaning of Lord Caitanya’s being magnanimous; that He is giving pure
unalloyed selfless love of God, the ultimate happiness of the soul, to anyone and everyone
without discrimination. He does not consider who is qualified and who is unqualified, the only
qualification to receive the mercy of the Lord is simply the eagerness to accept it; that’s all.
Whether you are sinful, whether you were born in kind of adverse conditions, it doesn’t even
concern; what you have done or what you haven’t done. Are we eagerly willing to accept the
mercy when it comes and what is that mercy; to associate with the Lord and His devotees and
to chant His holy names.
How to cultivate our life in order to chant the Holy Names properly
Caitanya Mahaprabhu awakened love of God in their (animals from Jharikhand forest) hearts &
therefore Srila Prabhupada explained this chanting of Hare Krsna is the peace formula, it can
create real peace. Srila Prabhupada said that Lord Caitanya, because He is the Supreme Lord,
He could get even the animals, even the snakes to dance in ecstasy, He could bring complete
harmony and loving relationships amongst all the lower species, at least we should try to get
the humans to chant Hare Krsna and become spiritual reminder. Similarly when Lord Caitanya
was travelling through South India even people who were brahmana caste very saintly people
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or people who were sinful, robbers and criminals like Jagai and Madhai, He would give all the
opportunity to achieve the perfection of their heart’s desires, love of God, through the chanting
of the Holy Name. However Caitanya Mahaprabhu explained how we have to cultivate our life
in order to chant the Holy Names properly. We should cultivate this consciousness as the
ultimate goal of our life to be more humble than the blade of grass, to be more tolerant than a
tree, to be ready to offer all respects to others and to expect no respect in return, in this way
one will please Krsna so dearly that He would empower us to be able to chant the Holy Names
of the Lord constantly. Krsna is non-different than His Name, He will reveal Himself according
to how we chant the Name, therefore it is very important that we have advanced association of
experience devotees to teach us how to live our life in such a way that we can please Krsna to
the maximum degree as we are chanting the Holy Names.
Srila Prabhupada; the manifested representative of the most illustrious quality

(magnanimity) of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Srila Prabhupada was such a devotee; he was an intimate associate of Lord Krsna and how do
we understand what was Srila Prabhupada’s special, special, special position? We were
explaining how KrsnaDas Kaviraj Goswami said that Lord Chaitanya is the most merciful and
is the supreme (amongst) avatars because of His magnanimity; because He wanted to give
Krsna consciousness to every one and any one without discrimination through the chanting of
the holy names. Of all great personalities, Lord Caitanya especially selected and empowered
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Srila Prabhupada to manifest his magnanimity to the highest extent, to travel on every
continent in the world, giving Krsna’s name with no consideration of who we are or where
we are coming from? He saw every living entity potentially as a pure saintly person, just with a
little covering of maya over us. So Srila Prabhupada without any discrimination, he gave this
Hare Krsna Maha Mantra, he would sit a little park in New York City called Tompkins Square
Park. This is where Srila Prabhupada started the Hare Krsna movement in Tompkins Square
Park. And some of the people in India were saying why is he preaching to these lowest
uncivilised people in the west? But they do not understand what KrsnaDas Kaviraj Goswami
has said that the Supreme quality of Lord Caitanya is his magnanimity that He makes no
discrimination; He would give Krsna consciousness and the holy name to everyone. So Srila
Prabhupada was so much the manifested representative of that most illustrious quality of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu; how dear he is and how fortunate are all of us to have the opportunity
to be connected to such a special personality who is revealing the glorious opulences of the
Lord in such a merciful and compassionate way. But Srila Prabhupada explained that this verse;
to be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, to be willing to and ready to
offer all respects to everyone and to expect no respect from anyone else; that is the quality that
will keep us always under Krsna’s divine protection, that is the quality by which Krsna would
be pleased to reciprocate and manifest Himself in His holy name to us. So we should chant very
sincerely, very attentively everyday to purify our consciousness and simultaneously we should
sincerely be a humble servant within our life.
Srila Prabhupada has given us a lifestyle
The whole process of Krsna consciousness that Srila Prabhupada and the great acaryas has
given us is just for that purpose by regulating our lives, by associating with devotees sincere
devotees who are eager to engage in the principles of Krsna consciousness, by sincerely,
honestly and earnestly making a choice within our own lives to really want to serve rather than
exploit; to really be humble rather than to be proud; to really want to please Krsna and the
vaisnavas and guru rather than our senses and our mind, it is that free will that we have to
strive to exercise in our lives; then when we sit down to chant the holy names we should chant
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and keep our mind, intelligence, our whole consciousness fixed on the sound of the holy name,
but we should be chanting for purification, we should live our life in a way we will be purified
and that will give us the best state of consciousness by which we can chant. They are all
interrelated. If you were chanting attentively and regularly avoiding the offences and at the
same time if we make those choices during the day, throughout the day it will help us to chant
the holy names very very purely. So Srila Prabhupada has given us a lifestyle along with the
chanting and that is very important. If in our life we offend vaishnavas, even offend ordinary
beings what to speak of vaishnavas, then when we sit down and chant the holy names, Krsna
will not be pleased with our chanting; we have to live our life in a humble way, in a sincere way
and that is the freewill of the soul to make that decision moment by moment but ultimately we
have to come and sit and really put our attention on Krsna’s name and let that name purify our
hearts.
Srila Prabhupada's divine grace is always upon us
We should know that how we treat each and every one of our god brothers or god sisters or
every other Vaisnava; that is how we are serving Srila Prabhupada. When we please
Gurudeva we please Krishna. By pleasing the servants of the servants of Srila Prabhupada, we
please Srila Prabhupada by which we please Krishna and Srimati Radharani. That is the
perfection of our life. So let us vow on this day that whatever happens in this world of
uncertainties, we know that one thing is certain, that Srila Prabhupada's divine grace is always
upon us. Let us never let go off the lotus feet of that supreme spiritual master who performs
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such sacrifice for you and for me. Let us take the good fortune that we have to work together to
make Srila Prabhupada's office, Bombay, a wonderful place where he will be proud to see more
and more people coming to the temple, with arms raised, fulfilling the order of his Gurudeva
by accepting the teaching of Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting the holy names Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Japa and Kirtan, both are important
Question: Often there is more attention in kirtan rather than japa chanting; which is important?
They are both essential for our spiritual life. We take a vow when we take initiation to chant at
least 16 rounds of mala everyday and that is very, very essential for our own personal private
purification. We regulate our chanting where nothing else around should in anyway disturb us.
We should actually chant our japa in such a way that we have nothing else to do during that
time otherwise you cannot chant attentively. And Krsna reveals Himself according to how we
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approach Him. If you are doing so many other things while you are chanting your japa, then
Krsna’s name would be doing so many other things besides revealing Himself to you; but if you
really want to show Krsna that you are serious, you will be in a place with right people where
you can just chant. No phone calls, no fax messages, no managerial decisions to be made. You
should just sit and chant. We should really make a time of the day that is the only priority; that
is very important. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu also taught the process of dancing and chanting;
that is equally important. Which is more important to your health? Let me ask Radha Rajya
Prabhu, he is our most illustrious health expert, can I ask you a health question? We would like
your participation too and perhaps you may agree what is more important for your health
eating or sleeping? Both. Can you without eating? Sometimes. But you can sometimes be a
devotee without chanting (Laughs) but it doesn’t last very long. Can you live without sleeping?
For sometime; but then you go crazy. Prabhupada said who is crazy? The whole world is crazy
because they have forgotten Krsna. So similarly this chanting & dancing and this japa; they are
both very essential for proper spiritual development. The chanting and dancing, not only do we
personally benefit in japa but we present the name in such a loud way that even the neighbour
and the police benefit, even the trees benefit and it creates a unity within society which is so
pleasing and joyful. So really there is no difference between japa and kirtan and bhajans they
are there for the same purpose and we make the best spiritual advancement when we accept the
guidance of our great spiritual masters who teach us how to balance our life, like a good natural
doctor. So similarly Srila Prabhupada has taught us how to balance our life; have kirtan in the
morning, have kirtan in the evening; chanting japa in this way is very important. We should
chant with the congregation; we should chant our japa everyday, it is very nice if we have
kirtan with our family at home or if we come to the temple on the regular basis and have kirtan
with devotees. This is the sublime form of purification.
Devotees are never discouraged
In the faith of great obstacles we have two choices: we can either give hope & loose our Krsna
consciousness or we can see the wonderful, wonderful, opportunities that Krsna must be giving
us in this condition and make progress in our Krsna consciousness. Every obstacle that Krsna
put Srila Prabhupada in; only glorified him all the more for the whole history to appreciate.
When you think about how he was penniless and the suffering of the heart attacks, living alone
in New York with no one to help him, living amongst the most sinful people; it only increases
our love for him; for Krsna allowed these obstacles to take place only to serve the mission of His
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Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and this is a very great mystery that should be understood
within vaisnava culture that the obstacles that the Lord puts on the devotees are specially
meant to increase the Krsna consciousness of that devotees and to glorify that devotees. And
in a positive spirit if we see the opportunity to surrender in that difficulty then we accept the
mercy of the Lord. Therefore the devotees are never discouraged because we are servants; we
are ready to serve Krsna in any way at any time according to His desire.
What Am I Attracted To?
Krsna tells us in Bhagavad Gita:
"all wonderful opulant things of this world are but a spark of My splendor".
If a materialistic person sees something or someone beautiful, they become infatuated with the
desire to possess and enjoy that thing. A devotee sees however infatuating that object maybe,
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it is simply a temporary manifestation in an insignificant quantity of Krsna's beauty.
What is the art of all work?
Today we are reading the beautiful verse from Bhagavad-Gita, Krsna is explaining how by
engaging in devotional service we can free ourselves from all the good and bad actions of this
life and previous lives. Herein Krsna explains that the art of all work is to offer the fruits of
action in the service of Lord Krsna. Prabhupada very nicely translates the art of all work. A
good artist is one who takes basic raw materials and creates something very, very beautiful. A
good artist can take some dyes, some minerals from the ground and make it into paint; a good
artist can take the bark of trees and make it into canvas, a cloth cotton and by combining them
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they make beautiful, beautiful painting. Another type of artist will take a piece of crude stone
from the mountain and crave it to a beautiful, beautiful deity or a statue; another artist will just
take musical notes; Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do; these seven notes and the notes between those
notes and with those notes he will make a whole symphony, beautiful, beautiful song. Another
artist will take just going to a jungle or a field and make it into a beautiful architectural
masterpiece of gardens, homes and parks. So really what an artist is one who takes a very crude
more or less useless raw materials and makes it into something so wonderful, which has a
tremendous value. If you go to France there is a museum, the painting of Mona Lisa; the canvas
is probably not worth more than a few marks and the paint that was used was not worth more
than a couple of marks but because Leonardo De Vinci took this paint and took this canvas and
put them together in such a wonderful way now that little combination of canvas and paper
and paint, that is worth a few marks in materials, is worth 100s of millions of dollars; the big
piece of stone is not worth so much but when Michael Angelo carved this big statue, it is worth
100s of millions of dollars, there is no price, they cannot even buy it because of what he did with
it. So this is the glory of an artist, to take crude materials which are worth practically nothing
and to make it something that is very, very priceless.
So Krsna is explaining here what is the art of all work or in another words the art of living. In
this world people are eating, sleeping, mating and defending. There are scholars, there are
warriors and politicians, there are farmers and there are businessmen and there are workers
who are doing their occupation but ultimately all that they are doing and the materials that
they are using are worthless. Whatever a person does in this world in their work, whatever
they earn, through the power of time by the time of death everything is taken away and all is
left is a one big zero. But a devotee lives in the same world and engages in the same type of
activities but because he knows the art of offering it to Krsna everything that he does is of a
priceless eternal bound; it cannot even be estimated by any of this wealth in this world.
The art of living
Duryodhana was in the one side of the battlefield of Kuruksetra and Arjuna was on the other;
they both performed exactly the same activities; they were both driving chariots, they were both
shooting arrows, they were both wearing the basic same type of military clothing, they were
both making many organisational plans on how to arrange the armies, their activities were
identical but there was one difference. Duryodhana was doing for his own selfish interest and
Arjuna was doing as an offering, a service to Krsna and what was the result? Duryodhana lost
everything and suffered a miserable death and Arjuna, he, achieved not only the kingdom of
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the world but he achieved the ultimate perfection of eternal wealth of love of God and
promotion to the spiritual world. So this is art; learning how to make every activity of our life
an offering to Krsna. Krsna says if you offer me a fruit, flower or a little water, if it is offered in
devotion, I will accept it. What is a value of a flower; a flower is not worth much and after a few
hours, at most few days, it withers and nobody likes it, it has practically no value when it is
fresh and absolutely no value after a few days it goes rotten. What is the art of living? Take this
little crude simple flower which is worth so little and offer it to Krsna that offering is worth
more than billions and trillions of marks, dollars, pounds, any currency and value of that
offering can never be lost in all of the eternity. What is the value of a little water it is free for
everyone, of course, these days people buy water because of the unnatural situation, but there
are places where you can go to the stream and get some free water, its value is very crude and
simple practically nothing but you offer that water to Krsna in a spirit of devotion and that
offering has unlimited eternal bound. So this is the art of living; learning how to make this
simple human form of life and utilise this useless body and the resources of this world which
only causes bondage and misery, and offer it to Krsna; (then) it becomes the cause of an eternal
transcendental bliss.
Follow the transcendental merciful directions of Krsna
So many changes are going to happen to this world like the winter and the summer seasons,
happiness and distress, success or failure, pleasure and pain, honour and dishonour,
disappointment or fulfilment; these things are all there; if we just tolerate them and continue
chanting our rounds attentively, continue following these regulative principles carefully,
continue hearing Bhagavad Gita, continue serving our line of parampara with the association of
vaisnavas then Krsna will give Himself that is His promises. But most important is that we
must try to avoid offences, if we make offences, especially to vaishnavas, very dangerous!! then
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the same power that you have; to tolerate; Krsna takes that power away. What was so easy
becomes impossible because Krsna is source of all strength, He can give us unlimited strength
or He can take it all away depending on whether He is pleased with humble devotional service.
So just let us follow the transcendental merciful directions of Krsna as they are coming down by
our beloved acaryas with patience, determination, enthusiasm and humility and we will
gradually come to the point where we can start to understand what is Haridas Thakura’s
chanting of Harinam.
All obstacles are Lord’s servants
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted sannyas and He wanted to go to Vrindavana but Lord
Nityananda Prabhu tricked Him to come to Lord Advaita Acarya’s house in Shantipura. Lord
Caitanya stayed there for some time dancing and chanting with the devotees. The devotees
recommended to Saci Mata that the Lord should go to Jagannath Puri instead of Vrindavana
because there Lord Jaganatha or Krsna lives and also it was very close to Navadvipa. When the
devotee said to the Lord it is not too good time to go to Jagannath Puri at this time as there are
rivalries amongst various kingdoms; they will capture You and torture You and kill if they
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catch You. At this time there are not only conflicting kings but all sorts of dacoits who are very,
very dangerous it is better if You wait till a better time; now there are too many obstacles. Lord
Caitanya very boldly declared “when there is ever time in this material world there will be not
obstacles; I will go to Puri now”. When Advaita Acarya heard this he became ecstatic, he called
out ‘My Lord what obstacles can possibly disturb You on Your path to Lord Jaganatha.’ Then
Advaita said something that we should all meditate upon it would greatly benefit us in our
spiritual life. He said ‘My Lord all obstacles are Your servants therefore You will certainly be
able to achieve Jaganatha Puri.’ All obstacles are the servants of the Lord that is the Lord’s
mission to the world to help everyone go back to Godhead. So if all obstacles are the servants of
the Lord, they are all serving the Lord by coming in devotees’ life to help them go back home
back to Godhead. When difficulties, hardships come in our spiritual life, we should know that
these are the servants of Krsna coming before us to give us the opportunity to purify our hearts
and become true devotees of the Lord and a devotee never gives up hope.
We can do it
One should simultaneously strain the senses and fix the consciousness on Krsna. They must go
on simultaneously. We must accept what is favourable for devotional service even if we don’t
like it at all and we must reject what is unfavourable to devotional service even if we are
infatuated by it, even if we are obsessed with it, even if we are going mad after it, we must
reject it and we accept what is favourable even if it disgusts us, we must accept it. This is the
process and we can do it. Krsna says just try, you just try to surrender, I will protect what you
have & I will carry what you lack. Krsna will help us. So in the beginning there is some tapyasa
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but if we keep our mind and senses engaged in Krsna’s service we can do it, it may be difficult
but even through that difficulty, if we have nice association and if we are doing things properly,
even in that difficulty, there is great happiness but if we become lazy then that difficulty
becomes miserable.
Chewing that chewed-up
When you are enthusiastic and you are not making aparadhs and you are hearing and chanting
nicely even the difficulties of Krsna consciousness is quite blissful. May be physically or
mentally very difficult but there is a fulfilment within your heart, you all have experienced
that?, but when you become lazy and you become lazy in your sadhana or lazy on your service
and you start thinking of all kind of excuses of what not to do, of what you should do, then
Krsna consciousness becomes very boring and miserable. And then you start to think what else
can I do in my life? may be all those things I gave up before, may be I should give them a
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second chance. It may be true that I have chewed the chewed for millions and millions times, I
have eaten that sugarcane and I am taking that juice and then I spit out the wood and then I eat
the wood again and I throw it out and I pick up that cane and I chew it and chew it, my mouth
has been in this massive pain from chewing so much and then I spit it out when there is nothing
left and then I pick it up and chew it again and I spit it out. And I have come to Krsna
consciousness because I am tired of chewing that chewed up, the piece of chewed cane. But
when you become lazy or you start making senses then you may be thinking there must be
some juice left after that cane! When you are intelligent you know there is nothing in it but your
mind is thinking there must be something in it. So let me go back and see the movies, let me go
back to the television, let me go back to my old music, into my old foodstuffs and my old types
of activities. We were frustrated by it before, we rejected or gave it up; we were finding the bliss
in Krsna consciousness and now let me go through it again. When a devotee leaves, they
usually go back to where they started, where they left off, its unbelievable, a devotee who joins
the Hare Krsna movement in the 60s, in the 90s if he leaves Krsna consciousness, he starts going
back like he is a different world, its some kind of time swap, its like he is back in the 60s again
and people are looking at him and thinking what is that because that is where he left the
sugarcane, that’s where he left that chewed up cane, he is got to pick it up where he left it. How
many times are we going to do that birth after birth? We have to be enthusiastic; if we put our
heart into our service even the difficulties would be satisfied.
From one destructive activity to another destructive activity
Since time immemorial we have abused our senses by utilising them to try to gain some
enjoyment from the objects of sense gratification; therefore; the living entity is literally addicted
to sense gratification, just like we see there are alcoholic synonymous where people are
addicted to alcohol; very very difficult to overcome. Therefore we have to really, really
concentrate our energies in the association of other persons who are like minded otherwise it is
practically impossible to give up this alcoholics. Similarly today there are alcoholic
synonymous, there are necrotic synonymous, there is sex synonymous, there is gambling
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synonymous and as Kali Yuga proceeds for practically every activity a person engages in sense
gratification, there may be some organisation of anonymous to somehow or other try to give it
up. And I remember here in Mumbai when some noble souls would regularly invite me to an
alcohol anonymous, I found in these people more of a sincere spiritual mood than most temples
and churches around the world; because they really have accepted within their hearts that they
are totally helpless; that they cannot overcome this force which is destroying their lives, they
have recognised it and the power that could help them is the power of God and without like
minded persons helping them, they cannot connect to that power of God. (But) One unfortunate
situation is, probably 95% of the people who are discussing these very very nice topics are
smoking cigarettes because the smoking of cigarettes helps them to, somehow or other, to bare
that temptation for alcohol. So what it is actually; it is just somehow or other, it is diverting your
attention from one destructive activity to another destructive activity; both destroy the body
and both destroy one’s spiritual inclination. In fact, any type of addiction to any type of bodily
pleasure, it is great enemy to one’s spiritual lives. Therefore the great acaryas teach us
according to sastra that with the same senses that are now causing you so much bondage and
suffering; engage them in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; your senses
become purified, you become free from all these material identification and gradually you
develop love for Krsna.
Inconceivable contradiction in the mind of a Vaishnava
When the deity worship is according to Guru, sadhu and sastra; according to the rules and
regulations then we make great, great progress in dis-entangling ourselves from material
bondage. We find Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He is a yuga-avatar, He came in this age of Kali
especially to teach us how we should purify our hearts. And wherever He went He was
worshipping the deity of the Lord. When He left His own home in Navadvipa, He would
worship His deity. And how He would worship His deity? He loved Krsna so much in the role
of His own devotee that He would just look at the deity and just by picking the deity up He
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would be in such love with this form of the Lord. Now to you and me when you look at the
deity, you just see a little black stone and someone has to draw a little painting of the face and
put a little crown and flute so we have some conception that this has anything to do with Krsna.
But Lord Caitanya, just the Shila, He would just see the Shila and He would begin to weep and
cry; He would cry and tremble so much on seeing the Shila that His entire body including the
clothes would be soaked. Then He was thinking I am too contaminated now to worship the
Shila, I am covered with tears; so He would go to the bank of Ganges to bathe, He would come
back and put on fresh clothes, put on His tilak and come before the Shila; go and pick up the
Shila and then trembling and weeping and crying torrents and torrents of tears until every limb
of His body was soaked and His clothes was drenched. He would take off His clothes, go to the
Ganges and take His bathe; put on fresh clothes, pick up His Shila and then torrents of tears
drenched, put down the Shila, go back to the Ganges and come back again and again and again.
Finally the Lord with great humility He said to Gadhara Pandit that you please worship the
Shila; for me I am so unfortunate that I am not qualified to worship the Shila; so you please
worship. He wasn’t just saying that He was feeling this; what is the inconceivable contradiction
that is going on in the mind of a Vaishnava. On one hand vaisnava is the highest platform but
even though those ecstasies, He considers to be the sign that He is in the lowest platform. Here
He is exhibiting the ultimate perfection of life; we have Shila here in our temple, most of you
don’t even notice that He is even there, but Mahaprabhu is in ecstasy when seeing; He is
weeping and crying. Knows the conclusion of all scriptures and yet He is thinking He is so
unfortunate, so fallen that He is not allowed to worship the Shila, He is considering His ecstasy
as a contamination interfering with His devotional service.
You cannot judge a book by looking at its cover
If we want to rise above third class (level), we have to learn to honour and respect every single
entity as part and parcel of Krsna. You will see the connection in the deity in the heart of
everyone in two ways: one, the living entity himself whether it is a blade of grass, an insect, a
bird or a fish, an animal or a human being, you will see that this living entity is the pure part
and parcel of Krsna and eternal servant of Krsna just somehow or other covered by some
karmic consequences and therefore in this particular body; but also besides that in the living
entity Krsna’s directly the Paramatma; Krsna is personally within the heart of every living
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entity. How can we disrespect anyone if we are actually Krsna conscious? We will see in this
way, naturally and spontaneously, and if we are Krsna conscious, we have to learn to see this
way on the basis of philosophical conviction and then we have to act on the basis of that
conviction; so that we can gradually realise it. Practical realisation is the basis of all of our
realisation; we can talk about compassion; we actually have to be instruments of Gurus and
Gauranga’s compassion. By associating with devotees that have compassion, we have the
opportunity to become compassionate but we actually act on the basis of that association.
We find in the story of the hunter (Mrigaari), he was half killing animals so they would suffer
and very slowly die, but by associating with Narada Muni he learnt the process of hearing
about Krsna and chanting the name of Krsna, being the servant of the Lord, being the servant of
every living entity that he came to the point where he was so sensitive in his respect and
welfare for all living beings he would not be even dare to risk stepping on an ant.
Recently when I was in Vrindavana, I met a very dear person to Srila Prabhupada’s heart, he
never got initiated although he knew Prabhupada from 1970. There were few people like this,
very famous people in the public’s eye for various material opulences they had and due to their
material opulences, Prabhupada actually instructed them to continue doing in what they are
doing and because of that some of them were not able to get initiated. So this man is Peter
Burwash. He was one of the most world famous tennis players, he was in the championship
circuit for tennis. Do you know what tennis is? It is some sort of perverted reflection of cricket
(laughs) by your estimation, by my estimation. I am not going to make any evaluations. You hit
these balls with these rackets back and forth and it takes a tremendous amount of energy and
strength; it is a very popular sport and being a champion he was always on television, always
on radios, always on newspapers and magazines and he was also doing business. He told me in
1970 that he went to see Srila Prabhupada in Toronto and Prabhupada was so eager to meet this
person he told his servant you go out of the room, I want to speak alone. He told Prabhupada
what happened when he publicly made it clear that he was a devotee; he lost over one million
dollars worth of contracts. So Prabhupada told him that when you are doing business, you
don’t have to you keep your devotional service underground, don’t reveal it; there are greater
things that you can do through you influence. Then he told me that Prabhupada spoke to him
for three hours about how to perform business for Krsna and on the basis of what he heard
from Prabhupada he started giving seminars on leadership and business and practically any
other subject on the basis of that talk with Prabhupada. And today he is one of the popular
speakers in the world for about 15 years; he was speaking 300 days a year to executives of
corporations, companies, government officials, all classes of high ranking people and he gets
paid $5000 for a hour of speaking. And the basis of everything that he says has come from that
talk from Srila Prabhupada and in his own way, he some how, interjects the values of Krsna
consciousness.
But to get back to the point on what we were speaking on; he told me that one time he was in an
international championship tournament; it was on nationalised television, millions of people
were watching; it was the final tournament and he was in it and it was the last moment of that
tournament. And in tennis, where you stand is very important strategically. So he happened to
see some ants crawling where there was the best place to stand on, so he moved aside to
another place and he knew if I move aside I may loose; in fact it is impossible for me to win but
I can’t step on these ants, Prabhupada taught me to be compassionate and consider every living
being. Am I going to consider me being the champion and winning this tournament to be more
important than a life of these ants? So he moved aside and millions of people on TV and all the
critics and the newspapers and everyone were thinking why in the world is he standing there; it
is the last minute of the tournament championship and he will loose. And he knew he would
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loose, he couldn’t win and people were asking him why were you standing there and he
understood that if I tell them that because I didn’t want to step on ants they would think I am
totally crazy. So he didn’t give any answer. Now he has retired from tennis but he considers
that one of the highlights of his career; he does not in any way regret that because he felt that
Prabhupada would be pleased with him. And although no body else in the planet knew
anything about it, in his heart Prabhupada would be pleased because he taught me to be
compassionate to others even in the risk of huge sums of money, glorious reputation; he
sacrificed it all to protect an ant.
It’s faith, that is Krsna consciousness action, although here we are many of us, we have dhotis
and shaved heads, we have kanthi mala and we have tilaks and wherever we go we just like to
practically put up flags I am a vaishnava, I am sadhu, I am a saint, as we are stepping on
thousands of ants without even caring. But here is someone that looks like an ordinary
American tennis man but within his heart there is such a sincere faith and conviction to apply
Prabhupada’s teachings according to what Prabhupada told him. You cannot judge a book by
looking at its cover; not all the time, certainly appearances are indicative but not always
necessarily like that. Krsna consciousness is based on the faith and conviction of our heart and
how we are willing to implement that faith in our actions and life.
Learn to offer respect to every living entity
Srila Prabhupada is his purport he is instructing us how we should learn to offer respect to every living
entity, especially to vaisnavas who are devotees of the Lord because they are so dear to the Lord.
Ultimately every one is dear to the Lord. We talk about vaisnava aparadhs that is most certainly the
most serious offence that would cause Krsna to withdraw his protective potency away from you;
without Krsna’s protection you fall; it is nothing else that you fall, your knowledge, your strength, your
fame will not protect you, only Krsna’s mercy can protect you. We should respect everyone, we should
respect our mother and father, the government officials, the simple sweeper of the street, even those who
are alcoholics, prostitutes, meat eaters, we should respect them but we have to learn how to respect
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them.
Srila Prabhupada gives an example; very important, listen carefully, by hearing what Srila Prabhupada
says attentively it will protect us from falling in the hands of maya. We should not read Srila
Prabhupada’s books ritualistically, we should really try to be awake and alert to understand what
Prabhupada is telling is essential, its urgent, it is a matter of life and death to understand and apply
what he is speaking; that you must respect the spirit soul within the heart of a tiger and you must
worship, not only respect but you must worship the Paramatma that is within the heart of the tiger. But
because somehow or other due to some karmic influences that spirit soul, that Paramatma, is in the body
of a tiger, you have to discriminate, you don’t say Haribol Prabhu! Tiger Prabhu! and embrace him; if
you embrace him you die. We respect from a distance. Similarly materialistic persons who are addicted
to sinful activities, they are more dangerous than snakes and tigers. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said to
associate with people who are too much attached to sex life and material opulence is more dangerous
then living in a room that is completely enveloped by flames of fire, it is more dangerous then living in a
pit of 100s of poisonous snakes, because a snake and a fire can only kill your body but they would not
disturb your propensity to serve Krsna; in fact they may help you to cry out for Krsna even louder with
more feeling; but associating with materialistic people destroys our propensity to do devotional service
because we become like what we associate with, but yet we must offer respect to them because Krsna is
in their heart. So we respect the person but we don’t associate with the bad habits that the person is
addicted to.
Understand who to associate with and who to listen to
So we respect the person but we don’t associate with the bad habits that the person is addicted to. In this
age of Kali Yuga, especially during today’s circumstances, this point has to be very carefully understood
otherwise we are subjected to tremendous confusion; because in one hand we talk about the dangers of
vaisnava aparadhs and the glories of vaishnavas. Here Srila Prabhupada quoting Visvanatha Cakurvati
Thakura is making things very clear that even if one is a vaisnava, if he is not of good character his
company should be avoided, achintya bheda abheda tattva is present in so many ways within our lives
as vaishnavas; if a person believes that Visnu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a vaishnava;
therefore they must be respected as Vaisnavas but at the same time if they are preaching blaspheme
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against your faith; (then) by associating with them your life will be destroyed. But if you blaspheme
them your life also will be destroyed. So we must keep respectful distances from such persons.
Sometimes some vaisnavas are too much attached to sense gratification; sometimes vaisnavas like to talk
prajalpa, sometimes vaisnavas like to criticise other vaishnavas, if you associate with them, it will
disturb your spiritual progress, it may even destroy your spiritual progress, but at the same time they
are vaishnavas; if you blaspheme them, if you disrespect them; that will also be harmful to your spiritual
life. This is what you have got yourself into this dilemma; we cannot avoid it. It is the material world.
The only pure satsang of vaisnavas is in Goloka Vrindavana but in this material world, there are all
kinds of devotees with all kind of motivation; they should be respected but we have to understand who
to associate with and who to listen to. Sometimes vaisnavas maybe actually detached from sense
gratification, they maybe more austere than you and their sadhana maybe better than yours and they
may be very learned in the philosophy of the scriptures but if they are teaching against guru parampara;
by associating with them you are creating a great aparadhs to your guru, your param guru and to your
whole parampara and they will withdraw their mercy; or if they speaking aspects of devotional service
that are contrary to how you are receiving it from your line of disciplic succession; unless if you are very,
very advance to accommodate it and not have your faith disturbed; then by that association you are
actually offending your own guru line and you will loose faith and you will become confused or you
will become unchaste, unfaithful.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura was very much disliked by many of the babajis of Vrindavana
and the lines that have come down from them. Why? Because he wouldn’t associate with them, he
considered many of them as taking things very cheaply, speaking very, very lofty topics. Bhakti Vinod
Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura they wrote many essays about the various apa-
sampradaya where they have different conceptions, different presentations although they be chanting
one lakh names a day, they may be living in a little hut, they may be extraordinarily learned, in
presenting very lofty conclusions from the books of Rupa Ragunatha Goswami, but yet their certain
conceptions and certain activities that make their association extremely harmful for our spiritual lives,
but if you offend them it is vaisnava aparadhs because they are devotees, they are taking the holy
name. So we should only associate with those devotees who encourage and invigorate our faith and we
should offer respect to those who potentially can threaten our faith and if we do not understand this
principle very, very seriously then we are heading for spiritual confusion without a doubt.
Understand the principles of Vaishnava etiquette
So some maturity and broad mindedness is required, but that maturity and broad mindedness
should not make us reckless. Broad minded means to be able to accommodate so many
different people with so many different perceptions of bhakti and they are all vaishnavas and to
respect them accordingly; and maturity means not to do it recklessly, not anything that anyone
is speaking about I am eager to hear. That type of broad mindedness has to be balanced with
maturity of what actually is beneficial for me, what is approved, sanctioned and blessed by the
guru, sadhu and sastra that we have taken shelter of. So love and respect should go to all
vaisnavas, love and respect should go to every living entity but maturity is very important to
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understand how to offer that love and respect to a tiger from a distance, to a loving godbrother
by embrace, to a senior vaishnava you put your head on his feet, senior vaishnava may embrace
you but the etiquette is that you shouldn’t be going up and embracing sannyasis; if they
embrace you then you can embrace back because what else can you do!, but the etiquette is that
you should bow down. So there is a way of respecting, there is a way of showing love, it is
called vaisnava etiquette and if we understand the principles of vaishnava etiquette very
carefully, we will never be confused; there will never be an impediment in maya on our path
that will disturb our progress.
I will never give up
But after years of hearing and chanting and after years of working so hard, sometimes giving
up so much, of what is precious to the ordinary beings, our health, our youth; still the ego is
there, the lust, the anger, the envy, the pride, the illusions are there, why? I have tried once, I
have tried twice; how many times have I dressed Radha Gopinatha, how many times have I
completed my 16 rounds, how many times I have bowed and said Vancha Kalpa to the
vaisnavas, how many books have I distributed, how many risks I have taken, how many people
I have brought to Krsna consciousness, how many times have I become sick invalid and gone
on with my service, and still my heart is not pure? Patience means that Krsna I am always going
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to be examining and re-examining the quality of my service and the intentions of my service,
because I am not pure, perhaps I am not doing it right, perhaps there is some flaw; perhaps I am
making some offences. So we can’t just be patient, because if you are making aparadhs, if you
are negligent of vaisnava principles, then you can be patient for millions of births. So we always
have to be scrutinisingly examining and re-examining what is the quality of my sadhana, my
bhajan, my seva, my relationships with vaisnavas and what is the inner content of my heart
when I am performing it? Am I doing it for pratistha, for recognition, or am I doing it to please
Krsna, to please guru, to please vaishnavas? And by carefully practicing in this way, if it takes
our whole life, if it takes hundreds of millions of births, it doesn’t matter; because I know that if
it is pleasing to Krsna, He will deliver me, I am His servant. I do not want money, I do not want
women, I do not want followers & disciples, I do not even want liberation; I only want to serve
you birth after birth after birth unconditionally. Unconditional service mean patience; whenever
Krsna so desires He will deliver me, it is His promise, “always think of Me, always become My
devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me, in this way you will come to Me without
fail”. Srila Prabhupada explains the essences of being patience; patience is necessary for
developing the confidence that Krsna will certainly accept me because I am engaging in
devotional service. One has only to execute service according to the rule and regulations to
ensure success.
We worship the deity as Krsna Himself, we honour every living entity as part of Krsna, we
worship and respect every vaisnava with maturity and we carry on in this way: chanting the
holy names, hearing the glories of the Lord, serving His devotees with patience and faith, never
to give up, if ever we give up that means we are not worthy of bhakti, if our intentions are clear
that I will go on as long as you want me to, O Krsna!! and when you want to purify my heart
that is Your business, I will never give up. It is that consciousness that is the price of Krsna
consciousness.
Have proper association with devotees regularly
Krishna is non-different from His names. Krishna reveals Himself to those who chant His
name in a humble mood of being a servant of His servants, not intoxicated or proud by any
situation that may be around us. Then Krishna will so kindly make our whole life beautiful and
perfect when we call out His holy name Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. So let us not allow our minds to be diverted by
any of these circumstances of this world. We must keep our mind fixed, vyavasayatmika buddhir
ekeha kuru-nandana …..and that takes place by making the priority of our life to associate with
devotees and to have very good sadhana at all times. Without regular satsang of the true
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devotees of the Lord, this material energy will definitely divert your attention away from the
proper goal and intoxicate you with pride and prestige and we should know, the more we have
in the form of wealth, control or prestige in this world, the more Maya is around us
surrounding us in these forms and therefore the more it is absolutely necessary to have proper
association with devotees regularly. Otherwise we will certainly be distracted and our
priorities will just become completely bewildered. We must have good sadhana and chant Hare
Hare.
Effect of the holy name
When the lotus flower is closed, its fragrance and beauty cannot be enjoyed. But when it comes
in contact with the light of the moon, when that lotus blossoms, all of its fragrance ... all of its
beauty is manifested to the world.
So this is the effect of the holy name, when it touches our hearts, it awakens the natural,
beautiful loving qualities of our soul and we realize, we understand our own spiritual existence
in our relationship with Vrindavan Chandra, Krishna. And as that relationship develops, it
manifests in five different rasas – as in neutrality, as a servant of the Lord, as a friend of the
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Lord, as the parent of the Lord or as the lover of the Lord. These transcendental qualities are
unfolded as we come in contact with the sweet ambrosial sound of Krishna’s holy name.
The safest and the most effective way to approach Radha and Krsna
Krsna (as Lord Chaitanya) assumes the loving propensities, the sentiments and the complexion
of Srimati Radharani. Lord Caitanya manifested the spirit of Sri Radharani’s love prominently
in separation. In His Antya lilä when He would see a peacock, He would think of Krsna and He
would go mad, when He would see the ocean He would think of the Yamuna and jump in the
ocean and fall unconscious, when He would hear a sound of a flute He would become
uncontrollably ecstatic with the thought of Krsna, He would see Krsna under trees, He would
see Krsna everywhere in the spirit of separation. Similarly, Srila Prabhupada describes how the
six Goswamis in the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught us that the safest and the most
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effective way to approach Radha and Krsna is the in the spirit of separation. Where is Radha?
Where is Krsna? Where is Lalita? Are they in the banks of Yamuna? Are they at Govardhan?
This is the mood that they taught us for approaching Krsna. Especially to the people in India,
Prabhupada would tell us that they are many people who say I have seen Krsna last night; I
saw Srimati Radharani; would you like to know what I have seen? No we don’t want to know
what you have seen (laughs). This is taking it all cheaply. Unless your eyes are tinges unointed
with love you cannot see Them, you may have some illusory dream but to actually to see Radha
and Krsna, you have to have the pureset of the purest hearts. Therefore to protect us from this
type of cheap conceptualisation which increases our ego, the six goswamis took the humble
position where is Radha, where is Krsna, why have you left me, when will I see You, How can I
serve You?
You went for your PhD without going to KG
The loving affairs of Radha Krsna are very, very difficult to understand for who is still on the
bodily concept of life. As long as there is even a tinge of false ego in the heart we cannot truly
understand the transcendental affairs of Radha and Krsna, anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-
anavrtam anukulyena krsnanu- silanam bhaktir uttama this the qualification to actually enter into
the understanding of Radha and Krsna’s pastimes that we must have unmotivated pure
devotion, untinged by philosophical speculations or the desire to enjoy the fruits of our
activities. Bhagavad Gita says, avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam param bhavam
ajananto mama bhuta-mahesvaram that fools deride Me when I descend into the human form, they
do not know My transcendental nature, My Supreme dominion over all that be.
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I remember, I will never forget; I once gave a lecture and there were many esteemed guests in
that lecture; one was an American man who received his PhD, his thesis was Gita Govinda by
Jayadeva Goswami. He received his PhD at a Banaras University in Varanasi and after the
lecture I just spoke basic philosophy; he said, “I have a question for you swamiji”. “Yes, what is
your question? “Of all the gods why do you worship Radha and Krsna?” He said, “I am an
authority, I have my PhD and the study of Radha and Krsna and I know what they did in those
bushes of Vraja, I know what kind of love affairs they had, they weren’t even properly married.
Why do you want to worship such a lusty god?” Hare Krsna!! Anyways he was telling me this
as he was smoking a cigarette and I said to him that my dear sir, with all due respect, I think
you went for your PhD without going to KG (kindergarten), I think you forgot and skipped
over the first standard, the second standard. KG for us is no illicit sex, no intoxication, no
gambling and no meat eating and no smoking cigarettes. And besides that Bhagavad Gita is the
preliminary study dehino 'smiyatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras
tatra na muhyanti, Do you know the difference between the body and the soul? And if you do,
why are you so much attached to the things of this body? The transcendental love affairs of
Radha and Krsna are the highest expressions of pure unalloyed ecstasies in the spiritual world;
they do not even have the slightest tinge of material contamination. As I was speaking, his wife
was pulling him saying it is time for breakfast we should go and he said I have to go and eat
breakfast and he told me what was on the table waiting for him. Hare Krsna! !
So Krsna says avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam param bhavam ajananto mama bhuta-
mahesvaram; fools deride Krsna, they do not know His transcendental nature, His Supreme
dominion over all that be.
The power of God can do anything
Krsna has unlimited transcendental opulences and the spiritual world there are forts of his opulences. In the
spiritual world there are innumerable Vaikuntha planets. We think that there is a lot of planets within this material
existence; the scientist will never be able to even calculate how many planets are within this little universe. There
are 14 planetary systems and so many planets in each system, the stars in the sky, can anyone count the stars in the
sky? that is just what we just can see within this universe and yet this universe is like a one little mustard seed in a
huge barrels of mustard seeds. This universe is quite insignificant. In fact Sri Caitanya Charitamrita describes this
universe that we cannot fathom with all its planets and with all of its variedgatedness is a four headed Brahma’s
universe; this is one of the smallest of all universes. When Brahma went to Dwarka to visit Krsna, ‘I want to see
Krsna’. ‘Who are you?’ ‘I am Brahma.’ The gatekeeper went to Krsna and said ‘Brahma wants to see You’. Krsna
said ‘Ask him which Brahma?’. Krsna knows how to expertly make everyone humble, even Lord Brahma, just
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these words; just like if Gauranga Prabhu comes to my door and says ‘I want to speak’ and I say, ‘who are you?’;
he would feel very insignificant. So in this way Brahma said ‘the 4 headed Brahma”, because everyone in this
world has one head so he has a very special position and he has four heads, he could see all the four directions, but
Krsna just to make his devotee very humble, He called for other Lord Brahmas; and Brahma saw there were some
Brahmas with 10 heads, some with 20, some with a 100, some 1000, 10000, 100000, million, 10 million heads; and
you may say impossible, you cannot even control one head and here is 10 million heads but everything is
possible. For a little insect to think I can pick up this lotus impossible, but for us it is very easy. So we must
understand that the power of God can do anything and can you imagine what type of a wonderful experience it
would be to see Brahma with 10 million heads chanting and dancing in ecstasy in kirtan!!! a beautiful sight!!! just
one person can have a great kirtan, 10 million mouths Haribol! His bhajans, when he sits to chant bhajans himself,
it is like a roaring sankirtan. It is said that the Brahma with the four heads is always chanting Hare Krsna; so all
Brahmas with their heads are chanting Hare Krsna. So this universe is very small size universe, so can you imagine
how many planets are in the bigger universes and yet how many Vaikuntha planets are in the spiritual sky. The
Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual sky are more numerable then all the planets in the entire cosmic manifestation
and Krsna is performing super excellent wonderful pastimes in all of these Vaikuntha planets forever and in each
of the Vaikuntha planets, the different forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be counted. So who
could possibly describe sufficiently the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
The ultimate aspiration and goal of our life
Arjuna was such a great devotee. He asked Krsna show me the Virat Rupa. Krsna said ‘No one could see
this Virat Rupa unless I give them the eyes to see’; Krsna gave Arjuna the eyes to see this Virat Rupa
with unlimited heads, arms, legs, mouths. All devouring time was right before him; Arjuna said ‘I see no
beginning and I see no end to this form’; he was completely feeling himself incompetent to perceive to
understand what he was seeing. And that was Arjuna who was actually given the eyes by Krsna to see
it. And we don’t even have the eyes and yet we think we are very, very expert in describing the
glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And that Virat Rupa is only a temporary
manifestation of the Lord’s material potency. The more we understand Krsna, the more we become
completely humbled how insignificant we are!! If you have false pride that is the symptom that you
don’t understand Krsna properly. How can you be proud when you are standing before the Lord who
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is unlimited? Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He didn’t pray to be God or the great seer of the truth; Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His sikshaktam is praying to be one atomic particle of dust at the lotus feet of
Lord Krsna. That is the ultimate aspiration and goal of our life: just to be that atomic little particle of a
dust at the lotus feet of Krsna, or to be a dust particle at the feet of the servants of the servants of the
servants of the devotees of Krsna. This is real knowledge: to have this aspiration.
Chastity of our consciousness
Maitreya Muni herein describing so wonderfully what he has heard through submissive oral reception
from his spiritual master; Maitreya Muni is giving us a very good lesson here that one should not have a
consciousness which is unchaste. To be unchaste means to be exploited and polluted and also exploit
others. When a person is unchaste in this world they just exploit others and they are also exploited;
that’s all. When a woman is chaste; she is protected, she is safe and secure if she has a proper husband or
father or elder son but when a woman becomes unchaste (then) big, big problems to the whole society,
cheaters and cheated, that’s all. So similarly when our consciousness is unchaste we become exploited by
maya and all of her representatives and in response we become exploiters even in the name of religion.
Maitreya Rishi is describing that his chastity is that he heard submissively from his guru and he is
simply repeating the glories of the Lord as he has heard from his spiritual master without interpretation
552
or change; if you change the message you became unchaste, you don’t do good to others but rather you
exploit others. The conscious which is chaste understands it’s real position that we are eternally the
servants of Krsna; we are Krsna’s property; therefore with our body, mind and words which comprise
our very life, we are meant simply to repeat the glories of Krsna as it is and serve the Supreme Lord as
He is. This is chastity of our consciousness because it is the natural position of our consciousness. As
soon as we speak due to the ferocious uncontrolled tendencies of the conditioned tongue, those things,
which are of the material world, which are not in service of Krsna; then we become unchaste to God.
Engaging the tongue in chanting
Chastity means to always be very, very faithful to hear from the proper source and to repeat those
words because that is our eternal position. Polluted consciousness is the greatest cause of suffering; it is
the only cause of suffering. In the material world there are so many material subject matters, people are
discussing; in India; today so much about politics & newspapers are just filled with news about politics.
The newspapers, the magazines, the television, the radios so much talk which is not related to the service
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for the soul it is unchastity and it is creating great pollution and
suffering and when we come to Krsna consciousness by the mercy of Guru and Gauranga, we
understand these things. Therefore how much we should take responsibility to only speak what is
positive for Krsna consciousness. One of the symptoms of a pure devotee is that they are silent. Srila
Prabhupada explains that silent doesn’t mean you become a maunibaba. Prabhupada said if a disciple is
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talking nonsense then the guru says you become a maunibaba, don’t say anything; better you say
nothing then let your tongue just ruin your life and lives of so many others. But that is not the perfection;
the perfection is when the tongue is always describing the wonderful glories of the Lord encouraging
others to serve the Lord, revealing one’s mind so that it would help you to serve the Lord. This is the
very fine thin line. Sometimes, because Rupa Goswami says that we should reveal our mind in
confidence, so people would just talk all kinds of garbage, talking and when you ask why are you
talking nonsense; no, no this is not nonsense, I am revealing my mind in confidence. You can justify
anything, but actually revealing one’s mind in confidence means to either speak or inquire how best I
can make spiritual advancement, not just to dump all your garbage in another poor devotee’s life. So
devotees are always eager to keep the tongue engaged in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord in
24 hours a day kirtaniya sada harih we should keep our tongue chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
Two ways of controlling the tongue
The soul is active and similarly the senses; their nature is to be active and of all the senses, Thakura
Bhaktivinoda prayed that, the tongue is the most difficult to control. We have seen someone who is
celibate, who is fasting, who is living such an austere life not allowing any of his senses to go anywhere
but that person often times is very eager to find false in others. The tongue is very, very difficult to
control, and there are two ways in controlling the tongue. One is eating only Krsna’s Prasad; that prasad
purifies your tongue at the beginning; Prabhupada said you eat as much as you like but after some time
your tongue should be purified where you have the determination to eat what you need to perform your
service nicely. And the other function of the tongue besides tasting is vibrating, we should not speak
material subjects, we should not be unchaste, we shouldn’t talk create pollution in the atmosphere; we
554
should not exploit others; we should speak what is positive to the service of the Lord and that is the
glorification of the Lord.
Silence is golden
We must be very careful in our relationships with other devotees. We should not allow maya to degrade
our soul by speaking materialistic gossip or unnecessary material topics. Real silence means to only
speak of Krsna; just like Krsna is sometime called nirguna which means He has no material qualities.
Impersonalists say ultimately He has no qualities at all because He is impersonal and formless but the
vaishnavas realisation is that, the scriptures saying that He has no material qualities, He is nirguna, but
He has transcendental unlimited variegated qualities. Similarly a devotee is silent that does not mean he
says nothing; it means that he says nothing material. There is a saying in America silence is golden. Hare
Krsna!! Silence is gold but we can understand it means silence is to always pray to the golden avatara Sri
555
Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Haribol! By loudly chanting His holy name!!!! Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna
Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Preach the truth as it is
We must read what is authorised; sarvanam kirtanam vishnoh. You cannot speak the truth unless firstly
you submissively hear the truth. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura glorified his own disciple
Srila Prabhupada for this quality ‘because he hears very nicely therefore he speaks very nicely; anything
he writes, publish it because he has heard my words submissively’. We inquire submissively and we
render service and what is the greatest service? To repeat that message, Srila Prabhupada told us, his
Guru told him; you repeat this message all over the world; hear it and repeat it. For the devotees of
Caitanya Mahaprabhu preaching is life, to preach the truth as it is. And we keep our tongue very
much engaged in this way and then there is no danger to us, otherwise it is a terrible danger if you are
556
not speaking Krsna katha, if you are not glorifying Krsna and His devotees or discussing better and
better ways to serve and to help others; then your tongue will become your worst enemy and it will talk
so many subjects; gossip, criticism and mundane affairs.
The devotees’ behaviour is the actual revelation of the truth
Krsna das Kaviraj Goswami in the Adi lilä from the Sri Caitanya Charitamrita describes an ideal that we
can all strive to live by. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He revealed the highest truths of His teachings
through the personal lives of His devotees. We can theoretically understand what is to be done and
what is not to be done by reading the scriptures but the devotee’s behaviour is the actual revelation
of the truth of the scriptures. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said Himself in the glorification of His param Guru
Srila Madhavendra Puri . But no one could understand the real conclusion of the scriptures or any other
scriptures in that matter simply by an academic deep extensive study; you could study the scriptures in
perfect Sanskrit knowledge for millions and millions of birth and never come to the conclusion of what
557
is the goal of life. We understand the truth about the scriptures by seeing the behaviour by a pure
vaisnava then all the knowledge of the scriptures are revealed to us just by seeing his proper behaviour
then when we read we can understand. Sanatana Goswami said to Thakura Haridas that some people
they speak very nicely but they do not behave very properly, some are great, great preachers but their
behaviour is something different and others behave very, very nicely but they are not able to preach. But
Haridas Thakura, he said, you preach perfectly according to parampara and you live by that principle.
Everyone is simply under the control of Krsna
Primarily, there are three principle energies of the Lord. There is the spiritual or superior energy, which
constitutes the entire spiritual existence where everything is saccidananda (sat cit anand); eternal, full of
knowledge and full of bliss. There is the inferior or external energy of the Lord, which is controlling this
material existence where everything is temporary, covered by ignorance and full of so many varieties of
suffering. And between it, the tatashtha shakti, or the marginal energy, which is the living entity, which
is eternally part and parcel of Krsna. The nature of the living entity is that it is eternal, full knowledge
and full of bliss; the same qualitative as Krsna Himself, however the living entity is small and
completely helplessly dependent on the power of God’s mercy, therefore that living entity has free will
558
to be either under control of Krsna’s superior spiritual energy or His inferior, external, material energy.
From which energy a person is controlled and to what degree what is controlled within each particular
energy, is depending on how we surrender to Krsna, but we have no choice whether or not to surrender
to Krsna, as everyone must surrender to Krsna at every moment. However we do have the choice to
which form of Krsna we want to surrender. Krsna explains in Bhagavad Gita that this material world, it
is working through His direction; this material existence is run under the existence the three modes of
material nature - goodness, passion and ignorance and according to our desire we surrender to these
various modes of material nature and Krsna will reveal Himself accordingly to us. So it is not that
materialistic people are not surrendering to Krsna; they are surrendering to Krsna’s inferior energy and
they think they are independent but this is their great illusion. Just like the bull, when a ring is put in his
nose with a rope, if you pull the bull to the left the bull is thinking now I will go to the left, if you pull
the bull to the right the bull will now think I will go to the right, actually the bull is simply under
control.
Stop surrendering to maya; just surrender to Krsna
Krsna descends in this material world and establishes the Holy Scriptures and sends His empowered
devotees out to preach, to tell us stop surrendering to maya or illusion; surrender to Krsna directly. By
becoming the servant of the servant of the Lord, Krsna reveals Himself as He is before us. So our
spiritual advancement is simply based on how Krsna decides to reveal Himself to us according to the
sincerity in which we approach Him. Krsna appears within the path of bhakti in so many wonderful
forms just to purify our hearts; He has appeared within His Holy Names, He has appeared within the
Holy Scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-Gita, He appears within the Holy Deities
within the temple, He appears within His devotees; He appears within the very process of devotional
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service. And according to the consciousness we approach Krsna in all of these various forms, Krsna will
gradually reveal Himself to us. Of course we understand, as Srila Prabhupada is explaining, even in the
spiritual path there are various ways in which Krsna will reveal Himself according to our desire. If we
approach Krsna desiring material benefits, Krsna will reveal Himself as temporary material benefit; if we
approach Krsna as impersonal Brahman, Krsna will gradually reveal Himself as the all-pervading
Brahmajyoti; if we approach Krsna as the Lord in everyone’s heart Krsna will reveal Himself as the Lord
within our heart; if we approach Krsna sincerely as the Supreme all loving Personality of Godhead, He
will reveals Himself in that way. But even in that platform of Bhagavan realisation, according to the
particular form we meditate on, Krsna reveals Himself according to that.
The most intimate realisation of the Absolute Truth
Some worship god as the supreme father and creator of the universe, Who throw thunderbolts on the
sinner’s head and Who rewards great benefits upon those who are faithful; a stage higher than that is
those who worship the Lord as Narayana, the King of Vaikuntha, and in the various planets of
Vaikuntha sometimes Krsna reveals Himself to His devotees as Lord Kurma the tortoise, as Matysa the
fish avatar, as Varaha the boar incarnation, as Vamanadev the dwarf incarnation; there are innumerable
incarnations Whose origin is in the spiritual world of Vaikuntha and if we worship any particular of
these forms, according to the instructions of the Lord, Krsna reveals Himself in this way to His devotees
eternally. In all of these transcendental manifestations of the Lord that eternally exists in Vaikuntha, the
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Lord is worshipped as the Supreme Absolute Truth. Above them is the divine form of Sri Ramachandra
Who is worshipped not only in neutrality and servitude but also to some extent in friendship and in
parental relationship. However the prominent consciousness is that He is the Supreme God and we are
His insignificant servants, He is worded with great majestic opulence. However the Srimad Bhagavatam
and the great Vedic literatures describe the highest essence of all spiritual approaches to the Supreme
Truth that is the Original Personality of Godhead, the most intimate realisation of the Absolute Truth
which can only be understood when we worship Sri Sri Radha and Krsna.
The sweetness of Krsna’s love
5000 years ago Krsna appeared in His original form as a son of Nanda and Yasoda, in Vrindavana. Krsna
revealed the divine pastime of the highest of all spiritual planets, the spiritual world, Krsnaloka. There
Krsna is eternally performing pastimes with His most loving devotees in santa rasa, dasya rasa, sakhya
rasa, vatsalya rasa and madhurya rasa but all in these wonderful relationships with Krsna; Krsna hides
His majesty and makes manifest within the heart of His devotees in prominence the sweetness of His
love, beauty and His mercy with the love the devotees have for Lord Krsna, it is unlimitedly manifesting
in their hearts that they even forget whether Krsna is or not God. For those who are devotees of Krsna in
the pure state, they have the fullest understanding of Krsna as the Supreme, All-powerful Truth;
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however that love goes far beyond the majestic understanding of the Lord. The love becomes so
intensified that Krsna personally, for the pleasure of His devotee, reveals Himself as an ordinary child
just to charm our hearts. Krsnadas Kaviraj Goswami uses the example (that) when the gopis were
searching for Krsna during the spring season at their lilä near Goverdhan Hill, Krsna was hiding from
them. They came to one tree where Krsna was sitting under and Krsna disguised Himself by revealing
His four-hand form of Lord Narayana, the master of Vaikuntha. The gopis very respectively offered
their obeisances unto Him knowing Him to be the all powerful, all-pervading creator of everything that
exists. They asked for only one benediction from Lord Narayana, “Can you tell us where Krsna, the
beautiful son of Nanada Maharaj, has gone?” With His four arms He directed them, they immediately,
after offering their obeisances, ran to look for Krsna. So in this way the gopis, their love was far superior
to those of the residents of Vaikuntha.
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HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj Quotes

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"G u r u m u k ha padma v a k y a"

By HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj

"G u r u m u k ha padma v a k y a"

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Actual elevation means to become indifferent

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

The principle of surrendering and devotion

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Keep our mind always fixed in Krishna……..

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Maya cannot touch a devotee who surrenders to Krishna

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Solve the essential problems of

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

A devotee is simply concerned with pleasing Krishna

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

PERFECT QUESTION AND ANSWERS

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj:

ATATO BRAHMA JIGYASA...

Meditate on Lord’s lila

Sure 100% method to conquer lust

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

We just learn to take the name of Krishna sincerely

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Unity alone would empower

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

PERFECT QUESTION AND ANSWERS

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj:

Consciousness in itself is eternal. There is no such thing as temporary consciousness.

Spiritual life is not mechanical

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Love for Krishna is not far away

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

3 most essential qualifications in approaching a Guru

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

PERFECT QUESTION AND ANSWERS

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj:

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE

Be loyal and faithful to Krsna

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Surrender to Krishna with humility and love

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

In all situations we can shelter of Krishna

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Uproot that weed once and for all

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Die before you die

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

The real bliss of Krishna Consciousness

It is our duty to be enthusiastic in our devotional service to God. If you go to a restaurant

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Always hear, glorify and remember Krishna

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Process of Kirtan is actually the life in the spiritual world

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Srila Prabhupada's miracle

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Distribute as many books as humanly possible

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj